“..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 God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:2
This verse came up as my verse of the day a while back. It stood out to me because it mentions running ‘the race God has set before us’ with endurance. Hmmm… Race… ‘The race’… Why does that sound so familiar? …Oh yea! The World Race of course! (I knew you could follow along with my train of thought.) The World Race is something that I feel God has called me to do as a means to advance His kingdom, bring glory to His name, and grow in my relationship with Him. It is a journey within the ‘race’ that is my life, and it is a mission trip that cannot be taken lightly. In reading Hebrews 12:2, the question occured to me: am I pacing myself to be able to endure for the whole ‘race’ that God has set before me, including the ‘race’ of the World Race? As in, am I going to last or will I burn out? Another verse that talks about racing is 1 Corinthians 9:24, which states “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” Am I running towards the tasks God has set out for me like I want to win more than anything? Am I taking the call to go on the World Race seriously in my preparation and training?
Honestly, my answer to the above questions is that I am not running with endurance and I am not running with such a passion as to win a race. Not to say that I am not taking steps or that I haven’t put time and effort into the World Race or my walk with God, but I don’t feel like I can honestly say that I have been running towards the goals that God has set before me in a way that I would run if I wanted to win. In recognizing this, I also recognize that this has to change. But how?
A crucial point that Hebrews 12:2 makes is that “we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” The only way that I am going to endure the race set before me (the World Race and the ‘race’ of life) is to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Through the cross he perfects my faith so that I can endure the race and run in such a way as if to win the race. Following Christ is key! I shouldn’t be focused on my ‘to do’ list, any concerns or other distractions. What Christ has done, who He is, and what He is doing is where my focus should remain. Therefore, I have been working a lot more on being disciplined in read my Bible and spending time in prayer. I had to go to the extent of setting alarms on my phone to make sure I did it, but I have been building habits of spending more time with Jesus everyday. The difference that it has made already in the past week is incredible! My awareness of Christ working has grown, my conviction to change has grown, and my sight has become more and more fixated on Jesus. Through all of it, I see that my running pace has developed and that I want to make it to the finish line no matter what it takes. To keep our eyes on Jesus is how we will endure and win the race that God has set out before us. This statement is so true!
I am so grateful that God has reminded me of this so early on in my race. With my eyes focused on Christ alone, I feel more equipped to endure the race and win it. I have more ambition and motivation for what is to come.
Hopefully sharing this lesson learned with you makes you think about your own race. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experience with me in the comments 🙂
Thank you for reading my blog!
-Abby
(Important side note: although it is called the World Race and I am comparing it to a race, the World Race is in fact not a race. Confusing, I know. To know more about what the World Race is check out the “What is the World Race?” link on the left side menu.)
