Running a Race
Whatsoever Series:
I enjoy running. It’s good for me. The crisp autumn air is invigorating…not. Running is difficult. It takes time, commitment, and a heap of energy. So, why do I try to do it? Because somewhere at some point in my younger years, runners were described as the epitome of holistic health. It’s the kind of exercise that burns extra fat, strengthens the core, shapes lean muscles, and exercises the lungs…it clears the head.
Why wouldn’t I want all of that?
Isn’t it ironic then that most of the time that I spend running, I am all in my head talking myself to the next tree, lamppost, or breath of air. Maybe your internal dialogue sounds like mine. It sounds something like: “just breathe”, “you made it to that one, you can make it to the next one” and “well, you’ve come that far, going the next block is nothing compared to the distance already.”
For many years, I felt that I came up short as a runner, because I couldn’t clear my head. Honestly, I spent as much time in my head as I did with my running shoes on my feet. So now, I have to ask myself how a clear head became the primary goal. I remember that I had started out just wanting to be healthy. I got off track.
Maybe, just maybe, running is more than that.
I Corinthians 9:24 says: “Do you know that in a race all the runners run, only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Later, in Hebrews 12:1, we are told how to run. Run well, because others are watching (there are witnesses); throw off what would hold us back from a clean race (self-talk, laziness, loss of interest), and persevere (keep doing it, press in to the challenge).
With God’s word in my thoughts, the effort of running has changed for me. Don’t hear me wrong. It’s still difficult. It still takes time, commitment, and a heap of energy. But the goal isn’t about my head or my health, though both can be improved by the daily practice. The goal is practicing it and doing it in such a way that it is a testimony to what I focus on. As Philippians 4:8 says, for whatsoever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, anything that is excellent or praiseworthy. My thoughts dwell on these things whether I am actually running or simply moving through my day at work; they are in the projects I start, the ones I finish, and in every way that I contribute to in my home.
Our students at Liberty University are learning these truths about practice, challenge, pressing in, getting up, and doing it again.
Families are also in this season. Get up. Keep doing it. Your family continues to grow into what God has called you to be. It’s a daily mindset.
Let us all run the race that the Lord has given to us in such a way that we are a testimony of the gospel. Let us love God and love others through our work, our study, and our daily comings and goings. It’s about perseverance. We pray that our students have this in mind as they strive to finish the semester well.
Meet the Author
Tamatha Anthony
Assistant Director
