Exhausted? Three Keys for Running to Win in Life

Are you tired?  Does it feel like you’ve “hit the wall” in life and can’t go on?  Does it feel like your faith and your spiritual energy is completely depleted?  If you’re in a place like this now or have been before read on.

The vision is still clear in my mind.  It was the Boston Marathon, I think sometime in the 70’s, and a female runner is nearing the finish line when her legs start to wobble, her path is no longer straight but swerves to the left then to the right, and she’s looking disoriented.  It appears that she has little control of her own body.  Then she loses control not just of her voluntary muscles but also of her bowels and her bladder.  It’s a pitiful site.  She falls and tries to get up.  After a race of twenty-six miles (over 140,000 feet) he is now less than a couple hundred feet from the finish line unable to go on.  She has “hit the wall”.  Two runners slow down, pick her up, and carry her across the finish line; not pretty but she finished and she receives the medal (and probably some serious medical attention).

A number of years ago I trained for a 25k race (about 15.5 miles) and I remember hot, spring days when, after eleven or twelve miles, I felt I couldn’t go any further.  I pushed myself but never really to “the wall”.  My mind quit before my body really did.  It is the same when lifting weights, you get to that rep. that you think is your very last when the trainer gets in your face and yells, “Don’t you quit on me!” and somehow you pump out one or two more reps.  Our endurance is not just physical it’s emotional.  Actually it’s not just physical and emotionally but it’s spiritual.  This is especially true in the race we run as disciples of Jesus Christ.

I want to share with you three things that will help you carry on and finish the race; one is your responsibility, one falls on those who love you, and one belongs to God.

Your part:

The Apostle Paul wrote these words in the ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it a slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Paul made two points here that we need to see.  The first is that you can’t run a real race if you don’t train.  Paul didn’t just say training but “strict training”.  It’s the difference between the guy jogging a mile a week in cut-off jeans, dangling a cigarette from his mouth and the one putting in five to twelve miles a day for three months.  If you’re not in the Word and truly spending time with the Father you will not be ready to run.  You get what you put into it and when you get to a big hill if you have filled yourself with Spiritual protein (the Word of God) you will get up the hill but if not, the hill may be insurmountable.

Paul also gave us a word on focus.  We have to run with direction.  If we run in circles we get nowhere and if we punch aimlessly into the air we won’t hit our target.  What is our direction?  We have two choices: God’s or ours.  If we seek to do God’s will every day, ask for his direction, and then yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit we will run a good race to the finish line, otherwise we will get lost.

The Part for those who love you:

In Exodus chapter 17 we read of the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites.  Joshua and his men battled the Amalekites while Moses stood at the top of the hill.  The Word says, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.”  The problem was that this battle lasted until sunset and Moses’ arms grew weary.  He just couldn’t hold them up any longer.  But help was near, “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady until sunset.”  How awesome!!  His friends held his hands up when he couldn’t do it himself.  I will tell you that if you are trying to run this race alone you’re missing out.  Look to people who are in Christ for support.  Seek out a brother or sister who can hold your arms up when you grow weary or pick you up a hundred feet from the finish line and carry you over.

God’s Part:

I could quote most of the Bible for this one but here is the deal.  God created you and he loves you.  If you are walking outside of God’s grace and are walking in rebellion to him you will never finish the race let alone win the prize.  Seek God, trust in Christ, and grab hold of these promises:

You can do “all things through Him who gives you strength”

His “Grace is sufficient for you”

Those “who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Your part, their part, His part.  If you’re tired my friend start with your part, lean on your fiends, and cling to the God who spoke the stars into existence with just a word from his mouth.

Peace,

David