The Bible is filled with many powerful and practical precepts on how to live our lives to the fullest. One such truth is found in the letter to the Hebrews. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT)
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I become discouraged and hardly feel like walking, let alone running. In such times I must ask myself why this is so. The answer always seems to be the same. Where am I looking? So let us look at these two little verses and draw insight and strength for running the race of life that God has laid out for each of us to run.
First of all we draw strength by looking to the saints who have gone before us. Almost all of them met with discouragement and adversity. None of them had a life filled with a bed of roses, but they finished their course by trusting in God; and so will we.
Sometimes the race the saints were running was slowed by sin. When that happened God intervened and chastened and corrected. He put them back on course, and the Lord will do the same with us when we repent and submit to His correction.
We must look at life as an endurance race and not a sprint. Our lives are not measured by a moment, but rather by the full span of time God allows us here on earth. Don’t be overly inflated during the good times, nor become deflated and depressed by bad times. Our lives are best kept in balance by looking to Jesus at all times. As we keep our eyes on our Champion, the distractions grow dimmer. The finish line is seen more clearly, and the prize shines more brightly.
—Terry Morrison