The Marathon Continues
Originally Written for The Sacred Desk.
January is known as that starting mark for a lot of things.
New Years Resolutions.
Gym Memberships.
Church Memberships.
Relationships.
Situationships (Actually...I hope all of your situationships died last year and are never to be revived again; we're too old for this, fam).
And a host of I hope POSITIVE, ENRICHING, DEVELOPING, & PURPOSEFUL others [feel free to insert you own "start" here].
But it seems by the second month of the New Year that is February, all the momentum we conjured up, all the excitement, thrill, adrenaline, inspiration, and audacity we fathomed to pull up from within ourselves is shot. GONE. We fall off; we give up, throw in the towel.
And instead of starting over instantly, proving to ourselves that we are in fact worth a second chance, we either convince ourselves that we'll try again next year, or we suppress our quitting. Sometimes we'll place the blame on everything and everyone else, but our ownselves. But for the sake of this safe space–which I hope is an oasis of encouragement for you–let's ditch the blame game and get you back on course.
This is a guide–this is a blueprint–a plan for how you can keep going, how you can start over, how you can keep running your own race, because like the Great Prophet Nipsey Hussle once said, "The Marathon Continues." Quitting is not an option and just because you face a little opposition, that doesn't mean you stop all together. You may take a break along the way, but GOD has called you to finish strong.
So let's get to it!
1. To run your race and finish the marathon, you will first need to Run the Race with FREEDOM (Hebrews 12: 1-4).
If you've ever been to a track meet, you'll notice that most runners, if not all, have very little clothing on, and most of the time that clothing is light and fit to the comfort of the runner's physique. No extra clothing, no dead weight.
Why?
So they can run freely–without restraint.
To run your race, you will need to take off everything that hinders you (v. 1); you cannot carry the old, you cannot bring the baggage with you. You will have to strip off anything that is or has the potential to hold you back–that includes dead relationships, friendships, work spaces, neighborhoods, etc.
If there is no growth of character and no feeding of GOD's purpose for you in that space, LET IT GO. It will only prevent you from running swiftly and freely.
2. Next, you will need to Run the Race with KNOWLEDGE (Hebrews 12:2-3). One of the most encouraging things about this journey as a believer is knowing that not only do we have a coach cheering us on from the sideline (THE HOLY SPIRIT), but we have a Savior who has endured this life just like we are trying to (JESUS).
Not only do we have Jesus as an example of how to run the race, but we have a host of ancestors whose heroic, yet gut-wrenching and trying testimonies are told throughout the Word of GOD.
We have Abraham.
Joseph,
Moses,
Ruth,
David,
The Three Hebrew Boys,
Esther,
Mary,
Paul–all of examples of believers who were tried to their wits end, but remained stedfast to the call of their GOD.
To know what you're up against, to know how to run this race, you will need knowledge that will fuel your endurance and your hope that this race can be completed. You will need to be in your Word for it is the Word that will sustain you. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word spoken out of the mouth of GOD (Deut. 8:3).
3. You will also need to Run the Race with DISCIPLINE (Hebrews 12:4-11). Before we get into how to run the race with discipline, let's talk about what discipline actually is and why it is necessary: Discipline is simply a training–it is a correction of a behavior that does not sustain you for proper development. Every good parent disciplines their child (v. 5a), and GOD, as our good and perfect Father, disciplines us because He loves us (v. 5b-6)–to correct our behavior that has us acting less than who we are, that has us settling for less than what we deserve.
GOD also disciplines us to teach us restraint so that when we get to our season of elevation, we'll know how to deal with it and won't lose it. If you aren't prepared for your elevation now, you'll fall quickly and will not be a good steward over what the elevation comes with. If GOD doesn't prepare you for the blessing now, you'll fumble it. GOD's discipline is His way of preserving us and consecrating us. Now does the discipline feel good? NO. You will be hurt, you will experience pain, you will be stretched. You will learn that sacrifice is required in order to be disciplined (v. 4). Discipline does not feel good. But the harvest does.
So how should I respond to the discipline, Nic?
So glad you asked!
SUBMIT. Simply submit to the discipline. When you willingly submit to the process of discipline, you actually inflict less pain on yourself–you do less heart damage and waste less time.
Think about how much time we actually waste running away from the process and from discipline, instead of running toward the process which is a part of the intended race GOD has called us to.
Do NOT skip the discipline. Do NOT cut corners, for you will only rob yourself of the fullness that exists in the process. If you cut corners and avoid the discipline, you will not earn the completeness that is to come by sticking to the process–you will not see the full transformation that can only be done by sticking to the process.
Your obedience to GOD's discipline is your protection, and in your obedience there lies the opportunity of a perfecting work for GOD to do in you–a transformative work of your heart, mind and behavior, but you have to stick it out.
4. You'll also have to Run the Race with ENDURANCE (Hebrews 12: 13-24). Like we already know, this task of running a race is nothing new; our ancestors were runners, both literally and figuratively (by that I mean some of them ran from their races a few times, but they gathered their lives and started again). That being said, we have it good! Some of the trials those before us have endured were far worse than some of the simple tasks the Lord is requiring us to push through.
Have you been called to have a baby at 90+ and then told to leave your home and go to a new land?
Have you been called to a fiery furnace just to prove GOD's sovereignty?
Have you been called to nail your stretched out body to a cross for the sins of the world, for the sins of the same people that put you up on that cross, for the sins of all those trifling, cheating, lying, no good thieves?!
Nope! Didn't think so!
Your process is grace compared to what you could be enduring; your race is a walk in the park compared to what it could be.
So, do NOT resist; ENDURE! This call is not for the faint at heart; GOD didn't birth us to be punks! He has raised us up! THERE IS NO ROOM FOR YOUR ENTITLEMENT!
5. Lastly, Run the Race with an END GOAL (Hebrews 12:2, 23-29). Every race has an end goal; every marathon has a finish line.
So, what's our finish line, Nic?
Again, so glad you asked, friend!
The point of it all is sanctification; the point of your discipline is to be refined. GOD is discipling you–calling you to this race–for the ultimate goal of you not being shaken in this life or the next, but rather anchored in Him. He is preserving you and sanctifying you to be equipped for eternity.
Mortality has an end date; it can be shaken, it can be altered. But eternal things last forever. The ultimate prize at the finish line is not merely a materialistic prize, but, like Paul says, is the infinite value of knowing Christ (Philip. 3:8); it's eternal communion with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ–with our GOD.
Our reward is not here, but rather in what is to come. And there is joy in that–there is joy in knowing that this isn't it. There is joy in knowing that this life is not the end; it's not the finish line. The joy is not people, a job, a career, a house, a car, or money; the joy that is to come is a reward so much greater.
So as the scripture tells us in Hebrews 12:1b - 2a,
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
Your race is not over; lace up, get on your mark, get, set and GO...the marathon continues.
Stay encouraged, fam.
xo, Nic.
