I run for fun. Yeah, I said fun, as in, a hobby. It started as a vanity thing following a doctor's appointment and an embarrassing number on the scale. then it turned into a way to get into shape in anticipation of trying to have a baby and wanting to have a healthy pregnancy. Then it became a way to get out the door with my son in the stroller. Sine then, I've run several 5Ks, one 10K, and got 3/4 of the way through training for a half marathon before medical complications benched me. Now, it's become more of a sanity thing. It clears my head, makes me believe I can eat more chocolate, and give me something to work towards (I can be a little too determined sometimes). The trick is, I have to be signed up for a race or working towards a new speed or distance goal to find the motivation to keep training.
The Bible is chock full of verses that speak to runners:
The Bible is chock full of verses that speak to runners:
- "When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble." Proverbs 4:12
- "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
- "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? run in such a way that you may obtain it.... Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air." 1 Corinthians 9: 24 & 26
- "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
Sometimes I remember these verses when I run, but mostly, I gasp out a few phrases here and there.
Today, during Bible class, I was able to
identify with one of the most well-known passages in the New Testament in a
completely new way. I am always in awe of the fact that I can read familiar
words and pull something new out of them each time or at a different season of
my life. I think that speaks to how the words are “living and active” (Heb 4:12)
Hebrews 11. The Great Faith Chapter. It
starts with the best definition of faith given in the Bible. Then reminds us
that we believe by faith that the Word of God formed the worlds. Then it lists
all of the major players in the OT that had amazing faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. Honorable mention is
given to several others and the chapter is summed up by listing all of the
methods by which the faithful were tortured and murdered and otherwise suffered
for their beliefs. All of this is like a crescendo to the charge given in
Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set
before us,”
Yeah, I loved it already because of the
mention of running, but let’s go back to Hebrews 11 verse 13 “these all died in
faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” and verse 39
“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.”[emphasis
mine] The great faith heroes of chapter 11 never
reached the finish line, but that was their motivation for continuing on,
with the vast hope that they would someday, somehow get to see the promised
land, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was something better yet to
come! They knew they weren’t home yet. Joseph didn’t even have his bones buried
and 440 some odd years later he was finally laid to rest in the land of Cannan-
because he had the faith to know that just because his story ended in Egypt, God’s
story was far from finished.
So,
let me tie it all together. When I run, especially when I’m training for
something, during the last mile of my run, I imagine that it’s the last mile in
my race. I push myself, I lip sync to the fast paced music playing full blast
on my headphones, I run as fast as I can that last ½ mile, I picture myself
crossing the finish line. Mile 2 becomes mile 12. I can almost hear the crowds
cheering, can see Scott at the finish line waiting for me, can taste the
chocolate milk that will quench my thirst and speed my recovery. And I can feel
the pride that my hard work and months of training has paid off big and I accomplished
my goal. The energy I get from transforming my mind gets me through that last
leg, even though it’s not the real deal.