Running The Race With Perseverance

Running can be hard.  I went for a jog this morning out on the road for the first time.  You see I usually just run around the outside of my house.  My neighbors probably think I am out of my mind, but oh well I am getting exercise.  I decided to today to break my normal routine and I ended up running 2.24 miles which is really good for me.  Afterward I felt like I accomplished something great.  The journey didn't just start today.  I have been working towards doing that for a while.  I started out in the spring just running around the outside of my house as I said before, but back then I could only manage to run for 5 minutes.  I gradually increased my time.  I also combined walking and running which also seemed to help.

For the past couple of weeks I increased my running time to 30 minutes which is probably the longest time I have ever run.  I kept track of my running on app on my phone called run keeper.  When I was running at home I was averaging 16 min/mile and when I ventured out today I ended up doing 13 min/mile which I thought was great for me.  You are probably wondering why on earth am I sharing this with you.  I did want to share my accomplishment, but I am not bragging because I know there are much better runners out there than I. 

I was reminded of something as I ran that is why I wanted to share that experience with you all.  The journey that you and I are on is like a race.  When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we are saved and our race starts.  For the most of us we start out on fire for the Lord and then out of no where we stumble badly.  Some of us fell and got back up so many times we started to doubt our salvation early on.  Then as we grew in faith by reading the Word and trusting His lead by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our steps we are running our race at a better pace then when we started.

We are not perfect.  We still stumble at times, but we know that our focus needs to be on Jesus.
We know that He is always willing to pick us back us each and every time we fall down on our journey. 

The passage of scripture that cam to my mind today was Hebrews 12:1-3 which says,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Sometimes our journey with the Lord can seem like a running race.  We start out full of energy and then we hit a bunch of hills and valleys.  We stumble over a root sticking out of the ground and fall down, but we get up again and refocus on the Lord Jesus Christ who awaits us at the finish line with His arms held wide open.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, life won't be easy.  It will be tough and hard going at times.  There will be times you just might feel like quitting, but I urge you, dear child of the Living God, don't give up, don't give in, never give up on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him.

When our race is over and we cross that finish line the Lord will welcome us home with His arms held open wide ready to give us the greatest hug that we have ever received and He will say,

"Well done, My good and faithful servant. Welcome Home."

Let us cast off anything that is taking our focus off of the Lord and let us focus on Him

He loves you and He wants you to trust Him.

Lord,
We thank You for salvation through what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Thank You for leading us each and everyday by Your Holy Spirit.
Help us to run this race with perseverance.
In Jesus name,
Amen.