Tag Archives: race

Time to Study some Faith Heroes

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In Hebrews chapter 12 of the Bible, we read the description of an inspiring scene:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!    (Hebrews 12:1-3  The Message)

Picture the race we’re running with Jesus.  The narrow way is lined with all sorts of people who have already finished and cheer us on!  They’re not just enthusiastic observers, they ran the race before we did and finished.  They’ve been where we are and have persevered.  They are role models for us, people who dealt with this frustrating battle with sinful nature, doubt, disappointment, fatigue and more.  I like the way The Message puts it when talking about the chief role model, about learning from Jesus and how he ran the race, “study how he did it….go over that story again, item by item…”  I think it also helps to remember the heroes of faith told about in the Bible and how they lived, as well.  That’s why God wanted us to know about them in His word, right?  There’s so much to be learned from the stories of their lives.  I want to think about some of them in the next few posts and how they dealt with disappointment.

Everyone faces disappointment.  I guess it can be a weight that slows us down in our race if we dwell on it, push it down inside, or let it pile up with other disappointments until they all blend together turning into bitterness and resentment.

Some disappointments from the past year or so, maybe longer, have begun to prick the inside of my heart, showing me that I haven’t really dealt with them or thrown them off so that I can run better.  I’d much rather sprint lightly with airy freedom than slog along with heavy feet.  Time to study up on some faith heroes.  Care to join me?  Stay tuned.

Spoiler

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I recently started following one of my Olympic heroes Apolo Ohno on Twitter.  He’s fun to follow because he “tweets” all the time, is really positive and enthusiastic.  He seems like he’d be fun to be friends with.  Tonight he tweeted the name of the snowboard race gold medal winner (an American) with excitement.  A moment later he tweeted an apology for giving away that info – he forgot that he is three hours ahead of most of the country and had spoiled it for some of us who hadn’t even seen that race yet!  A few minutes later John and I watched the qualifying round and saw the winner make the finals.  We laughed and remarked, “We already know he’s going to win!”

It’s almost more fun to watch now knowing what the outcome will be – and that it’s one of our USA boys.  I bet he’d love to know that ahead of time!

How would we face the trials and events of our lives if we knew already that we were going to be the victors?  If we knew that ultimately we wouldn’t fail?  I think I would throw myself into it everything more fully, wildly and with abandon.  I know I’m going to win so what’s to lose?  Nothing!  Go for it!

Those of us who follow Jesus would do well to remember that He’s already determined the outcome of this amazing race of life here on earth for his team:  we win.  In a way, Jesus “tweeted” the outcome to us long ago, giving away the beautiful “just what we hope and dream for” ending: living on and on forever with Him in peace.  When we get to the finish line with Jesus, we won’t have to fight the battle against ourselves anymore, won’t have to feel shame at mistakes anymore, won’t have to be afraid of elimination or falling short ever again.   No matter what bobbles I make, close calls, stumbles and errors – I accepted the hand Jesus offered me and joined him so I already know what’s going to happen.  That’s one spoiler I don’t mind hearing about!

Lean Into It

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What mother would say, after hours of exhausting labor, when she’s nearly ready to push the baby out into the world, “This is too much.  I’m giving up”?

What marathon runner would decide to sit down yards away from the finish line after enduring nearly 26 miles of roadway under their hot, tired feet?

What painter would visualize and paint for hours and then leave the painting unfinished, a portion of the canvas still white and empty?

If you’ve gone that far, you may as well keep going until you finish!  The mother definitely has to finish.  There’s no way that baby can stay inside of her and survive.  There’s no turning back once that process is begun.  The way she keeps going when she is weary or hurting is to think of the newborn baby she will soon hold, the joy of bringing a life into the world, the pride of surviving childbirth and joining the ranks of millions of women throughout history who have done the same thing.  When these thoughts surface in her heart she resolves to lean into it and get through to the end, to the wonderful result of seeing her new son or daughter.

A cancer patient braves harsh chemotherapy and radiation because they see through the nausea, tiredness and long days to the hope of being cancer-free, of killing all those unwanted cells and feeling healthy again.  Would they take a few treatments and then stop?  Continue reading →

Step Back

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Some thoughts from the last few days:

What if every morning I just prayed and said to God, “I’m stepping back, God.  You’re in charge of my schedule, my encounters with other people, my words, my behavior, my safety or lack thereof, my thoughts, everything.”  What amazing things would I experience?  What freedom!  I know I still have plans and schedules, but to release it all to God first thing and remember that His plans are best.  Those are the ones I want.

My sis and I were “talking” through email about this and she had these wise words for me, “Jesus just moved through his day and touched and taught as he went along.  …He was on his way to heal a man’s sick (actually dead) daughter and the sick woman touched his robe.  He stopped briefly and she was healed (ok, her life was changed and it took him like 2 seconds) and then he went on where he was going!  He just allowed life to happen and he worked in the situations that presented themselves.  For whatever reason, ok the Holy Spirit, it was suddenly so clear to me that with Jesus as our example, that is what God wants us to do, too.”

to doSo true!  We tend to be goal-oriented, task-driven people focused on the end of the race as our goal when our goal should really be all the stuff in between, the day to day running, the pressing on, the scenery along that day’s path, the little moments when we see our big God at work in and through us.

I’m going to pray as I walk/jog in the mornings that God will let me relax back into all that He is and just be carried along through the day by Him.  Total trust.  Total surrender.  Total peace, too.  I’m going to just step back.

We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.   Proverbs 16:9