Huffing and Puffing to the Finish Line

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.” Hebrews 12:1
 
As I put on my workout clothes and began stretching my body, I stared out the window and sighed. It rained non- stop over the past few weeks. It would be easy to make excuses as to why I couldn’t go out and run.
The ground is too wet.
I’m too tired.
I can do it tomorrow.
I had been working hard all week; I can make it up next week.
 
No one would have known if I had forsaken my commitment to train for a 5k. But I’d know and sometimes I’m the hardest person to disappoint.
 
It’s the same in my life as a disciple. The busyness of life sometimes keeps me from regular devotion time. One week turns into two weeks, two weeks into a month, and then soon I can’t remember how long it’s been since I had spent time alone with God. In the same way, I want to make excuses rather than run each day to train for a 5 k. It’s always easier to make excuses instead of doing the hard work of discipleship.  But if I do the work each day of studying the word of God, practicing disciplines like silence and fasting, my faith stretches and grows. Just like each half hour I dedicate to running, my lung capacity grows, too.
 
It’s hard, much like life. But when I’m huffing and puffing my way to the finish line when my training is over, the still small voice tells me to keep going, because although the tough times may seem long, they soon give way to perseverance and hope.
 
And that’s what makes it all worth it.
 
Lord, give us the endurance to stretch our spiritual growth so we may reach the finish line. Amen.