Running Your Race
(We hope you enjoy this article from guest writer and youth group member, Luke Griffith.)
Our walk with God is similar to a race. However, it is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Imagine the start of a race. Everyone is lined up and waiting with anticipation for the gun to go off. The announcer calls out, “On your marks, set,” then BANG!
Everyone takes off! The beginning of the race is where all the runners want to get out in front and claim a good position. This is critical to how runners will pace themselves. If you surround yourself with other runners who are faster than you, then they will help push you to be faster. The same goes when you surround yourself with slower runners; they will drag your pace backwards.
After the start of the race, runners will fall into a pace that they can keep the whole race. If you go out too fast, you will eventually tire out and have to slow down. During your race, you will run through challenging parts like hills and will have to power through. Hills make your legs burn and your heart beat faster, but with every uphill, there is a downhill. When you go down you must stride it out. Let your legs run, and don’t try to hold your momentum back. Hills are guaranteed in a race. It is easy to see why running a race relates so perfectly to our walk with God.
The start of our spiritual race is when we get baptized. The adrenaline is pumping, and you are so on fire for God. You are ready to go! The first week especially seems like a sprint. You find your pace and go out quickly to get a good position. As time passes, you find yourself surrounded by other runners. Some will be good influences and others will be not so great. Choosing who you run with will determine how the rest of your race goes. Will you stick with the people who slow you down, or will you push yourself to keep up with those who make you better?
Think about your life. Who are you running with? Are they limiting your relationship with God? Are they slowing you down? Are you trying to improve in your race, or are you fine with a comfortable pace?
Being comfortable is not always good in a race. You want to push yourself to become better. The hills in your life represent the challenges the devil throws at you. No matter how fit you are, there will be challenges. You must rely on God to get you over the hill. You will slip and fall, but you must get back up again. You may fall several times, but you must get up and fight the temptation to stay down. Then you can let God take over and carry you all the way down. Sometimes on the downhill we like to take control, but God is in control, and he has a plan. Hill after hill, challenge after challenge, God is in control.
No matter where you are in your spiritual race, remember to rely on God with every step!
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)