Sometimes life gets you down but it takes real strength – the kind that only God can give to keep you going. My son is an avid runner and competes on his high school cross country team along with quite a few other "competitive events" around our area. He loves to run – in fact, over the weekend he said, "I am going running… I don't know exactly where yet but I plan to be out for a while." When he returned 50 minutes and I asked where he had been he described this course to me…east down CR 22 to "Five Points" then east on CR 118 to CR 3 where he turned north to Mishawaka Road. Then east on Mishawaka Road to SR 19. He turned north on SR 19 to Lincolnway and then west on Lincolnway to the County Line. He came south across the tracks and then back east on Mishawaka Road to CR 100 and then home.
I google mapped the route and it is 9.1 miles! He loved it and I would have hated it!
It was not always so easy for him though…In his first competitive race in junior high school, he ran into a little trouble. You see, my son has a hereditary eye disease which prevents him from see in dimly lit places. The course he was running went from the open field into a wooded area and then back out again. On the first curve of the course, the crowd he was running in went into the woods and turned. He followed the white t-shirts in front in order to make it through and keep the pace. Suddenly the runners in front of him parted to the left and right and he, momentarily thought "how odd", and then crashed face first into the tree that they were running around. It knocked him flat. He pooped back up and apologized because at first he did not realize it was a tree – once he realized it – he felt stupid and embarrassed. He tried to make his way on a little further and eventually, despite the pain, made his way out of the woods.
He was ready to quit. In fact, he slowed to a walk and was ready to give it all up and then alongside came his CC coach who said "come on, I'll help you along". His coach ran alongside him for the rest of the race encouraging him, challenging him and giving him the desire to keep running. Since then, my son has won many races and been part of several winning teams. He learned to keep running – even when things get hard. He learned to push through the pain even when it wants to force him to quit. He now runs 9.1 miles just for fun!
Folks, we have it the same way – life can get hard but Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God are right there with us. They are not simply running alongside, though, they are actually giving strength to do it. They are encouraging you to never give up and never give in to the struggles that get you down. Jesus knows what it is like so he feels what you feel, he hurts when you hurt, he cries when you cry BUT He also pushes when you want to stop.
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
He does not want you to quit – even when you crash face first into an unmoveable object – get up, pray more, decide to keep going and keep running!
Philippians 3:12 – 14 (NIV)
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
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