To run to my Saviour

In high school I ran track and cross country...yes, I am a glutton for punishment. I'll tell you, there are not many things in this world that compare to the feeling you have at the end of a 5k. You spent the better part of 3 miles pacing yourself just so, careful not to outdo yourself, but determined not to lag. You watch for landmarks that you made special note of on your warm-up, using each to press yourself forward to the next, and setting your pace to the relation of the landmarks on the course. At the two mile mark you think to yourself, Aight, this is the final leg. It's time to make a move. Careful now. One opponent at a time...don't go for speed, go for progress. So, one opponent at a time, you move closer and closer to the ultimate goal...the finish line. About 400 meters out, that goal comes into view...and at that point, as an autistic teammate named Troy used to so eloquently state, It's juice time!!! You kick it into high gear. 200 meters to go and your legs feel like jello. You aren't even sure whether or not your feet are hitting the ground. Your side is splitting. Your breath is coming in short, sometimes excruciating bursts. The sweat from your forehead is blurring your vision. Your arms are pumping so hard they're chafing. You have no idea how, but you manage to find more speed after already enduring 16 minutes of torture.

Before you know it, you're on the ground (or leaning on the wheezing runner in front of you) across the finish line. You feel like your about to empty your stomach. You still haven't regained the feeling in your legs, and you're really not sure why you haven't passed out yet. You could swear the world around you is actually spinning. People are giving you pats on the back, congratulations, encouragement...and you sort of wheeze out something that you think resembled a "thanks". It hasn't rained for 2 weeks, but your running singlet is as wet as though you just endured a torrential downpour. You know this is the closest thing to death you will ever feel during life.

And you love it. You thrive on it. That very feeling is what drives you to dig deeper. Because you know that if you don't feel that way at the end of a race, you didn't try hard enough. You think back in regret on just how much you know you had left to give...and now you will never have that same chance again. Sure, you may have another race, but the one you just finished is forever a memory, never to be repeated.

Life as a Christian is often much the same. How? It takes training. It is often painful. Never is it easy. There are landmarks along the way that we would be wise to heed. Often the progress is slow...sometimes it comes in bursts...but we should continually strive for progress. And then there's that sick feeling at the end of the race. Life is full of trials. To persevere is what grows us. In cross country, I learned to thrive on the pain. So why would I do anything differently in my walk with the Lord?

The reason I say all this is simple. There are things in my life that frustrate me. They annoy me. I find myself thinking at times, enough is enough, I'm sick of this. The proverbial weight of the world presses down on my shoulders until I'm afraid I'm going to break. But here's the thing. In cross country, I always knew there was an end to the suffering...and that if I didn't give it my absolute all, I would be disappointed and the entire race would be for naught. In life, the same holds true. Yes, I suffer. But I know there will be an end to that. It is promised time and again in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. In Romans 5, Paul goes as far as to say, And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope...

I know there is an end...and I know what that end is...And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." There will come a day when, for all eternity, I will worship the Lord, the God Almighty, my Saviour, Jesus Christ. And at that time I will suffer no more. I will have run the race and it will be forever a memory, never to be repeated. My hope and prayer is that I will run that race with endurance...that I will thrive on the pain...that I will let it serve to drive me deeper into the arms of Christ, because my strength has given out...my legs are weak and my sides are splitting...and I know that now...now, when I lack the ability to affect circumstances...now, God can take over...now He can do His work...now, in humility, my face is turned to the goal ahead of me...the face of my Father and my God.