by Mary J. Runion
As he stands
off to the right, he reaches down to tie his shoe laces. This is it.
It is his time, his moment to do what he has prepared for all these
months and years. He adjusts his sox to
make a snug fit and in the process begins to position himself to stretch his
back, thighs, calves, and feet. The
warmth of the stretch spreads through his muscles. He knows he is ready. Our runner approaches the starting line,
pausing for a moment to remember. He
remembers his training; the early mornings he set out before dawn to condition
his muscles for the endurance necessary.
He recalls the pain of rehearsing again and again the running he is
about to do, each time adding more and more distance so that his body will not
quit before the end. As he steps up to
the starting line, he remembers pretending to do this time and time again until
now, when it is finally the true race, it is as familiar to him as the practice
run he did yesterday and the day before!
He stretches one last time before taking his mark. As the horn sounds, he leaps into action!
Ladies and
gentlemen, I believe now is the time of running! It is the season of preparation for the race. I believe that God is calling us to begin
running so that he can begin to condition our spiritual muscles for the
endurance of running the actual race that is ahead of us. This season is about doing what we are going
to do but on a smaller scale so that it begins to feel natural to us.
Take our
runner for example. He doesn’t prepare
for a race by simply reading about races.
He doesn’t stop with talking about them either. If all he did was read about them and discuss
them, then on the actual day of the race, he would be horribly unprepared for
the endurance and stamina required to run.
All the knowledge in the world doesn’t help the muscles in the body
sustain the physical demands of the race!
So where
does he begin? He begins with
running. He runs 1 mile. Then 2 miles.
He adds more on each week to stretch himself to new achievements and new
abilities. His muscles begin to endure
longer, and become even stronger than before.
As they get used to the new level he has just conquered, he will then
add more distance to build them even further.
Some of us
have started running but stopped adding more because we think we are ready. We think that because we have been running
for a 2 miles a day and know how to run, that we are ready to enter the 10K
(6.2 miles).
What we must
understand is that God did not intend for us to enter the race before we were
properly prepared to do so. It is vital
to listen to Him and learn to wait on Him.
A while back
I began praying and asking God about patience.
This is what He revealed to me.
Patience is the ability to wait on God.
When you ask God for patience, He often will put you in a position to
wait so that you learn to not act in your own impatience but to wait for Him in
His timing. Peace, on the other hand, is
the ability to stay calm while waiting on Him.
It is the ability to rest in His promise knowing that He has a perfect
plan that will come to pass and I do not have to rush to get to it.
Needless to
say, my mind was completely blown as I began to ask God for peace in the midst
of waiting on Him! See, many times we
become impatient and begin to enter the race before our preparation and
training is complete. When we move ahead
of God there are always negative consequences that God never intended for us to
go through. His ways are higher than
ours and so are His thoughts (Is. 55:9).
Returning to
our runner, we also see that he stretches his muscles regularly, before and
after running. What does stretching
do? Medically, stretching increases
blood flow to the muscles. Blood is what
nourishes the muscles. It removes the buildup
of lactic acid produced by increased usage of the muscle which can cause the
burning sensation during excessive use.
By stretching our runner is also allowing the blood to bring much needed
oxygen to his muscles, which will strengthen and keep them functioning
properly!
Many times,
we begin to run our races without stretching or going to God on a regular
basis. We hang on to the things we should
have left at the altar before God allowing it to burn us and slow us down in
what we have been called to do. We begin
to get weary in well doing (Gal. 6:9) and soon become sore and stop all
together. We don’t allow the life
bringing, oxygen rich blood to cover us and bring us back our joy which is our
strength (Neh. 8:10) and deprive ourselves of its renewal! God is standing there waiting for us to come
to Him, to give Him our burdens, our worries, our cares, our problems so He can
give us life, and joy and peace! We must
go to Him, not neglecting this simple thing, being with Him, in His presence.
Finally, our
runner is flexible. He has trained,
adding more and more challenges to his training until he is totally prepared
for all that the race has for him to conquer.
In the midst of it all, he knows that wherever this path takes him, he
is able to go because he is not bound to one place or another. He must run forward, not looking back. He is able to keep his eyes ahead, looking
and searching for the finish line and not giving up until he reaches it. Our racer is determined to complete what He
started; not at the starting line, but months ago when he set his sights on the
race that He would run.
We must
remember “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it
until the day of Jesus Christ”. (Phil.
1:6 NKJV)
The vision
that God has given you for you, your family, and for your church, is the
race. He will prepare you for it and in
due season, you will approach the starting line. Until then, be patient, waiting on Him to
prepare you. He will bring you to those
practice sessions, and push you through the training. He will stretch you as you grow, become
strong, and increase your wisdom, knowledge, endurance, and stamina! And when you do step up to the starting line,
He will be there running with you! (Heb. 13:5)
I challenge
you to run! Run with those who are
running. Run past those who aren’t. Most of all, keep your eyes set on the goal
which is Jesus Christ! He is the one and
only reason we run at all.
God bless
you as you seek and serve Him!
