Brother Ray is preaching a series on “Running the Race”. I have thought much about this the last couple of weeks. I think about the time when I ran track in school. As a youngster, I was involved in all kinds of sports. Football, basketball, and when they weren’t going on I was a member of the track team. I threw the shot-put and discus, jumped the high hurtles and ran the 440 and 880 meter relay’s. To run the 880 meter you had to train every day by running 5 miles. There’s no way I could do that now but, as a young buck I loved it. In running any long distance you have to be disciplined mentally and physically. Mentally, the body resist’s the physical pain involved. In running there is a thing called “The Wall”. The first mile or two your body cries out with pain, your side hurts, your legs hurt, your lungs hurt, and your mind keeps saying “STOP” I don’t care how long you’ve ran, it’s still there. The more you run the less it hurts but your body still resist”s this physical punishment. Usually after you cross the mile, mile and a half mark, your brain puts out endorphins that act as a pain reliever. You don’t hurt any more. In fact, there is a time when you don’t even feel your legs! You could almost run as long as you want, with-in reason.
Lets look at the spiritual aspects of “Running a Race” which is what Paul was really saying. It requires a mental discipline. Determine what God wants from you and stick to it. Every good runner trains daily, every other day won’t get it. Study distance runner’s and see what they did to accomplish success. If you read the Bible you’ll find there are many runners there. There will be set-backs, pain and obstacles in the road that you will have to deal with, but the more you train, the better you will become.
Finally there are two groups of people in any race, runners and spectators. The spectator can see the challenges the runner faces and even root for them, but they will never know what it is like to run the race. They will never know what its like to run across the finish line. 1 Cor. 9:24Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receive the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Posted by Steve Waltrip
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