Running for Your Life

“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith,

we must get rid of everything that slows us down,

especially sin that distracts us.

We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.”  

Hebrews 12:1

Who inspires you?  Who have you watched live out their own personal faith?  Perhaps it’s someone in your own family who has encountered serious struggles, but has never turned away from their own love and commitment to their faith.  Perhaps it’s a friend that you have watched walk through great loss or heartbreak, yet they have only tightened their grip on God’s Hand.   Maybe it’s someone to whom you are not even personally connected, watching from a distance as they have come through great tragedy. Yet they’ve held even more tightly to God, trusting Him with each step as they keep moving through experiences you could never imagine surviving.  They have been your examples of faith.

Sometimes the greatest losses and tragedy can be used to bring a new page in our life . . . things we had carried in our lives that had actually served to slow us down, or distract us from where our heart was longing to fly.  They may have been very good things in our lives . . . perhaps wonderful people we would have never wanted to be without.   But, for whatever reason, the void left in their absence has provided you a new opportunity to step into the Race of your own life in a deeper or more focused way.

The Race is your Life.  No one else is running your Race.  It’s between you and God alone.  Others may run beside you for a time, but they are not running your race.  They are running theirs.

How have you been running?   Are you just standing on your mark still trying to get your shoe tied?  Are you focusing on hearing that gun go off, on your mark, ready to go?  Or are you looking at the crowd to see who’s watching you?  Are you still adjusting your running suit?  Does it even fit?  Are you focusing on the finish line, or are you just checking out the runner beside you?  Comparing his/her physique to yours?   Do you even know where the finish line is?  Or are you just running because it’s what everyone else is doing?

Have you intentionally connected to runners who have been proven over time?  They have run their race with consistency and focus.  They know exactly where they are going, and have been running for a long time.  Who is in your life that you know has wisdom and proven experience that can help you improve your running….your technique….your focus….and your outcome?

Whether you intentionally joined the Race, or just wandered onto the field, you are in it.  It’s up to you how you run it.   Who are you looking at?  People who’ve proven they  know how to run their own race? Or do they merely have all the knowledge of how it should be done?

Focus on the Finish Line.  And run for your Life!