I almost didn’t bring my good running shoes on the Race with me; I was afraid they’d be ruined and weren’t sure they’d be worth the weight. I also had no idea how many opportunities I would have to be able to run. It’s been sporadic, and inconsistent, but I’ve managed to run at least two or three times on each continent thus far, and I’ve been learning a lot about my spiritual strength and endurance through it all. You see, running is the PERFECT metaphor for what it looks like to be in a relationship with God. Here are a few reasons why:
1. It requires discipline. My biggest frustration with running always comes with beginning the process of getting back into the habit of it. On the Race, schedules are nearly nonexistent, and sometimes roads to even run are too. And honestly, a lot of times I just don’t want to do it. But if you can manage to be consistent with your running, it makes it a lot easier to go farther and go for longer.
2. You set goals. Some days you meet those goals, some days you exceed those goals, and some days you fall short. I am constantly reminded that when I feel I haven’t gone far enough, I’m still exactly where God wants me to be. And when I’ve gone farther than I could have imagined, it’s because God helped me to get there.
3. It can be painful. Just last month I had to give up running for a while after hurting my foot my second run out. God never promised that his plans or his will for our life would be easy or painless. Often we really have to be broken down so that we can be built up stronger.
4. You need rest. I think that’s pretty self-explanatory on both ends!
Running has become a huge form of worship for me. It is one of the best ways I can think of to literally surrender my entire body to the Lord and give him my all. There are reasons why the Bible uses the same example of a life in pursuit of Christ. Once you have that mindset, running becomes a lot more enjoyable (believe it or not!). Not easier, but far more worthwhile. You see, God wants us to come to the complete end of ourselves so that we can be filled with HIM. I get to that point A LOT, when I realize that my legs cannot carry me any further and I cannot finish alone. Sometimes the Lord grabs my hand and says, “We can finish together”, while other times he has to pick me up and carry me across the finish line. Either way, I don’t finish without him. And you know what? When I get to go run a Race with Jesus, I’m not looking at how much farther I could have gone. I’m looking at how far I’ve already come with him by my side.
My mom told me one time that she read chocolate milk was the best thing to have after a run, and it stuck with me. Here in Malaysia we live right across from a 7-11, so we have pretty much unlimited access to chocolate milk. A few days ago, I bought two bottles for Jenna and I, but we only ended up running one mile that day. And it was a hard one. Feeling like I hadn’t worked hard enough or run far enough to “win” a chocolate milk, I saved them for a longer run. A couple of days later I went into the 7-11 and bought a chocolate milk to drink. I hadn’t even run that day, but it was still just as refreshing.
A lot of times we think that there is a certain quota we have to fill before we can fully receive the grace and love of God. So when we don’t fulfill our own goals or expectations, we can’t accept salvation.
Jesus is a lot like chocolate milk; whether you got up and ran a few miles or you laid on the couch all day, you still get to drink it in. And it is still sooooooooo good.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.“ (Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV)
