Tag: Running the race

The Path We’re On

suzieinglis
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

When I worked in Costa Rica, my team and I would often host groups. During their stay, we’d take them to a rural area to a steep hiking trail with some rustic steps.

Those of you who know me well know that I’m not a huge fan of hiking. Why, then, would I take people on difficult hike? Because of what awaited us at the bottom of the trail…a huge, fast flowing, heart pounding, awe-inspiring waterfall.

The waterfall empties into a large pool of water surrounded by rocks. Not only is it a sight to behold, it’s a place where people can swim and feel the force of the falling water.

It such a beautiful place that it makes the hike down (and back up) the path worth it.

The idea of a path is such a great analogy to our lives, isn’t it? It represents the different directions we’ve taken and will take over the years based on our decisions and circumstances. It’s full of symbolism as we imagine it being smooth or rough, straight, or crooked, well-lit, or dark.

As you think back on your life, you might observe that some of the things on your path are the result of things that God did and some of the things are a result of decisions you made.

The Bible talks quite a bit about different “paths,” sometimes translated “ways,” and the more I studied the topic, the more I saw a pattern – God’s part and our part.

Our part

Like the Psalmist, we ask God to show us His ways and teach us His paths.

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths”. Ps. 25:4

“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight”. Ps. 119:35

We don’t always know what those next steps are in our life, so we ask God to show us.

God’s part

He makes known and gives understanding.

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand”. Ps. 16:11

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding”. Ps. 119:32

When we ask God to show us and teach us, He does.

What else does God do?

He LIGHTS our path.

          “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. Ps. 119:105

  • How does God light our path? By HIS WORD. His word is what illuminates the way before us.
  • As we spend time in His Word, we will know the way we ought to go. It’s not about what the WORLD says, it’s about what His WORD says.
  • When I worked in Costa Rica, we never took people to the waterfall at night, and you can imagine why. It was pitch black. There would be no way to see or safely make our way down the rock and dirt laden path.

What is our part/our response to a lighted path?

We walk on and stick to the path on which we know we ought to go.

  • “My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled”. Ps. 17:5
  • “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day”. Prov. 4:18

That’s the path of the righteous. Do you want to be on that path? I do! How do we do that? How do we keep our way pure?

  • Ps. 119:9  “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”

What else does God do? What’s His part?

He does the Guiding and the Leading

  • Why? Because He knows the way – just like in Costa Rica, we, who lived there, led the team to the path toward the waterfall.
  • He has done the leading for a very long time.
  • Neh. 9:19 reminds us how God led the Israelites:  “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.”
  • We see something similar in the New Testament in Luke 1: 76-79 in Zechariah’s prophecy about his son, John the Baptist which reveals:

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Barnes Notes on the Bible gives us some insight on the cultural, historical context to help us see the meaning of “to guide our feet”:

“The figure in these verses is taken from travelers, who, being overtaken by night, know not what to do, and who wait patiently for the morning light, that they may know which way to go…. So (man) sat in the shadow of death. So he knew not which way to go until the Sun of righteousness arose, and then the light shone brightly on his way, and the road was open to the promised land of rest – to heaven.”

Barnes Notes on the bible
  • Are you familiar with the song, Same God?  The same God who led the Israelites out of Egypt and in the wilderness, is the same God who leads us today. He gives us direction. He guides our steps, just like He did in Biblical times.

I think we know that in our minds, but do we practice that as we make decisions? Do we seek His will, direction, and guidance? And do we wait for it before we act?

You know what else God does?

He Straightens our Path.

  • Prov. 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight“.[a]

The Psalmist asks God in Ps 27 to lead him in a straight path. If you’ve ever been hiking or on a winding trail, you know how daunting it can be. You can’t see what’s ahead, what obstacles there might be, what the terrain is like…

But when you have a straight path, you can see far beyond your location. You know what’s coming – you have a clear path before you.

The caution is to stay on that straight path. Prov. 2

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways.

Those who have left the “straight paths” have made choices to do that.

The choices we make determine the paths we take.

What is our response to God as He straightens our path? What is our part?

Let’s CHOOSE TO TRUST AND RUN!

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com
  • Run? Yes!  We get on our running shoes.
  • Ps. 119: 32, “I run in the path of your commands,
        for you have broadened my understanding.”
  • We trust God so much that when He:
    • shows us our path, the way we should go,
    • and He lights it up,
    • he GUIDES us,
    • AND He STRAIGHTENS the path before us,
  • we don’t have to be afraid. We can go WHOLE-HEARTEDLY ahead!

Maybe that means boldly sharing your faith with your neighbor, or praying for something bigger than you’ve ever prayed for before, or stepping up to serve in a way you know God has called you…

Now I’m not saying your path won’t have challenges at times. I’m not saying it will be easy or smooth all the time. But remember why I endured a rough hike in Costa Rica. It was all about that amazing waterfall that awaited me at the end.

Remember what awaits you at the end of your path – eternal life with our God – it’s worth it.

Let us go be radiant on our path this week!

Running the Race

suzieinglis

Are you a runner? I really admire runners. Runners have such dedication, commitment, endurance through good weather and bad, through rough terrain and smooth.

I always struggled with long distance running. When I had to run the mile in school, I thought I was going to keel over and die every year. It wasn’t just the physical part I struggled with – there was a psychological element too. As my heart pounded louder and louder and my legs ached with exhaustion, I remember thinking things like, “I’m never going to be able to do this, I can’t do this…”. I just didn’t have the confidence and I certainly didn’t have the perseverance. It might have helped if I’d had a coach or a trainer – someone who was an expert in running.

Now that you know this about me, you can probably imagine how I cringed ever so slightly as I read about the topic of faith (see my previous blogpost What is Faith?) in Hebrews and came across this passage:

12 “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. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:1-3

The author says “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” Not only are the Hebrews instructed to RUN, but they are also to do so with “perseverance” and in a race nonetheless!

Have you ever wondered what that race is exactly?

I always assumed it was a generalized metaphor for the Christian life, but as I studied it, it’s actually more specific. One commentator writes that it is: “The persevering obedience of faith in Christ.” In the end, the Hebrews were either going to win the crown of glory or have everlasting misery. That was the “race” set before them.

If we, like the Hebrew believers, have the same “race” set before us, which I believe we do, then how do we run it well? Answering this question is key in helping us know how to practically and tangibly live out our faith on a daily basis.

Hebrews 12:1 gives us the first step: 

By throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

What do professional runners wear? Hardly anything, right? They don’t want anything to slow them down or hinder them.

When we apply this same idea to our Christian lives, we need to remember that there are things in our lives that weigh us down. They might not even be sinful per se, but they might be influencing our ability to run well. What kinds of things in your life might be hindering your ability to have persevering obedience of faith in Christ?

We also have to recognize that our sins – whether they be from habits, circumstances, things we’re exposed to, or things we willfully choose, hinder us from running our race well. How? They entangle us so that we are flailing about instead of running with smooth, steady strides.

We need to throw off those sins, which requires intention and effort on our part. Would you allow me to encourage you to spend some time this week praying that God would reveal to you the sin that needs to be thrown off?

Our sins take away every motive we have for running the race. Who wants to run when they are weighed down or tangled up?

Not only that, our sins give power to discouragement. The author of Hebrews knew this and in chapter 10, he admonishes the believers to encourage one another. Like the Hebrews, we need encouragement to run the race, the persevering obedience in the faith, and we do that by getting rid of sin and spurring one another on.

The second step in how to run our race well according to Hebrews 12 is:

By fixing our eyes on Jesus

We are to look to His holy life; to His patience and perseverance in trials; to what He endured in order to obtain the crown, and to His final success and triumph.

Jesus is the AUTHOR and PERFECTOR of FAITH. The word “author” here indicates that He is the source, the cause.

He is the first and the last as an example of faith or of confidence in God – the most complete model that can be placed before us. He is above all.

The Hebrews, like us, are exhorted to look to him. One commentator noted that the idea of looking to Jesus was as if at the Grecian games there was one who stood before the racer who had previously carried away every victory; who had always been triumphant, and with whom there was no one who could be compared.

I envision running with Jesus right in front of me (He’s running backwards) and He’s making eye contact with me. “You’ve got this Suzie, keep your eyes on me. Don’t look over there.

Isn’t it easy to look at other people and what they have – such a nice house, ooh new car, I just love how she dresses, what a wardrobe!

Jesus is right in front of us giving us direction along the way – “keep your body aligned, don’t be distracted, remember your breathing – I gave you your first breath and I will continue to give you all you need to finish this race.”

We have to remember that WHATEVER Jesus asks us to do is ATTAINABLE!

Jesus is the Finisher of faith. This idea corresponds in meaning with the word “author” above. It means that he is the completer as well as the beginner; the last as well as the first. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last. He occupies this elevated position of being beyond comparison above all others.

The third step to running our race well is:

By fixing our thoughts on Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6) – even more so when we are weary

3 “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

It’s easy to grow weary when running. When that happens the author of Hebrews instructs them, and us, to:

  • Recall the suffering Jesus endured, to save them and us from eternal misery.
  • Steadfastly look to Jesus, which brings strengthening and keeps carnal desires in check.
  • Frequently consider Jesus. 

Living out our faith means running the race God has marked out for us. The running we do in this race, which is the persevering obedience of faith in Christ, is not something to dread like I did every time I had to run the mile. We actively throw off our sin and keep our thoughts and eyes on Jesus, our Coach, who runs with us, guides us and strengthens us. Our confidence comes from Him.

If your focus starts to blur or you feel yourself getting back into old habits of sin, talk to someone who will pray with you and encourage you to get your eyes back on Jesus.

Let us go be radiant as we run the race set before us.

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