Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Have you ever had the opportunity to run a 5k race? Right now, as I write this, I am in preparation for an upcoming 5k race. All summer long, in fact, I have been preparing for this by jogging as much as I can for as long as I can. As I have come to learn, running is all about the pacing.

When I was about 10-12 years old, my dad would take me running all the time. I wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of jogging; however, I would go out and run with my dad.  He would always tell me to slow down and to pace myself. “You’re not running a race son, you’re just out here to get in shape,” he would encourage me. “Slow down, take it one step at a time…don’t quit now…you’re almost there.” Before long, we were running for a couple of miles.

I remember, at one point, my dad signed us both up for a 5k run in a neighboring town to ours. I may not have finished in first place, or ran a record speed; however, at 10-12 years old, I was conditioned enough to run a 5k without even feeling the need to stop. It is amazing how much one can endure if one just paces him or herself. It’s not a matter about where one places, but about finishing the race.

This summer I took my twelve year old and my nine year old out running with me, just as my Dad did with me when I was their age. At first they wanted to sprint out ahead, but would quickly tire out and have to walk.  I told them to slow down, just like my dad told me all those years ago. Once they listened to me, once they started to pace themselves, they found that they too could finish the run. In the end, my youngest ran a full mile and my oldest ran two full miles. They found out they could go the distance.

The same is true when we look at our faith journey. We often seek out God in order to better our lives in some measurable way. We look for success, for prosperity, for the world to see eye-to-eye with us, and for the world to change at the sound of “amen!” Yet, when these things do not happen the way we envision, when it seems that nothing is working the way we’d hoped, we give up and turn away from our faith.

What we as people of faith need to do is to learn how to pace ourselves. We need to stop trying to sprint off to the finish line and we need start learning to take this journey one step at a time. God has not called us into instantaneous perfection. God has not promised that the road will be short and easy. God has not promised that we will not pour sweat into the paradise that we strive for.

God simply promised that we would not have to run this race alone. That, for each step we take, God’s Holy Spirit will be there with us each step of the way. If you silence yourself for a moment, you will hear God calling out to you, “It’s not a race, my child…you’re just out here getting in shape. Slow down, take it one step at a time. Don’t quit now, you’re almost there.” Remember, that by the grace of God you can and will stay the course and finish the jog; in the end, you will look back at the course and know that God, in and through you, has accomplished much!