It was September 2018 at the Berlin Marathon where history made its mark. Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya smashed the world record for the fastest runner of a 26.2-mile marathon – 2:01:39. An incredible accomplishment that no ordinary person can simply do in an instant, but takes much dedication and sacrifice. Can you imagine what Eliud must have gone through to achieve such a remarkable feat? The sacrifice of waking up early day in and day out for building up the endurance for the entire run. The uncompromising strict diet to balance enough energy intake without unnecessary calories. The coaching required to motivate and monitor his training so that he can be the best. Eliud said it well in an interview after his historic race, “The lesson of running is to train well, and then have full faith in your training and show the proof in the race.”

Little did Eliud know that his words were directly speaking to me when it comes to spirit-filled living – a life marked by the extraordinary even through the daily grind of the ordinary. The question to ask myself is: what is the proof that I am in the race for Christ Jesus? I couldn’t help but be reminded of Paul’s words relating to the same imagery of a runner running for the ultimate prize:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What does running for the prize look like for your life? How can you continue to run the race without ‘disqualifying’ yourself for the ultimate prize, the prize of eternal life?

1. IT’S NOT A SPRINT

Here’s the truth – we are in it for the long haul. We are meant to be on this Earth to represent Christ until that fateful day where we meet Him face to face. Before that day, we have work to do, conversations to be made, places to serve, and much, much more. The key is doing what you can but pacing yourself so that you do not burn out in ministry or fallout of lovingly pursuing Jesus.

Now I can run a mile, no problem (it may not be the fastest, but it is feasible). Yet I cannot run 26 miles without the conditioning and the training it takes to get to the finish line. In the same way, it’s easier for me to go from event to event with sprint-like intensity rather than pacing myself to run the distance. The problem is I get tired from the inconsistencies in my schedule. I noticed this with the packed July schedule I had this year – too much in a short amount of time. Thankfully, I was able to take a vacation to rest and to refocus which is where I’m at now.

While your story is different than mine, you are also in the same race. What’s beautiful about that is, you don’t have to compare yourself to the race I’m running nor to anyone else. We are all given different spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that we are to be faithful with, but we do not measure ourselves against one another.[1] We are running the race against ourselves and only ourselves. So there’s no need to compare, which frees us from the trap of exaltation (thinking I’m better than others) or humiliation (thinking I’m not as good as others). With all that said, how are you running the race at a consistent pace? What steps are you taking that is building your faith each and every day?

2. IT TAKES DISCIPLINE

I don’t know too many people who like the word ‘discipline’ and I’m not included in that count either! Yet according to the words of Paul above, it doesn’t look like we can avoid it as we do with eating healthy and working out (I’m generalizing, but hey, it’s a good point). We are told to “run in such a way to get the prize” (v.24) and to do that we must “go into strict training” (v.25). Here are a few points regarding Christian discipline:

• There’s a fine line at times between discipline and legalism – Spiritual disciplines are designed to draw us deeper to God; Legalism is dependence on law or formula that hinders us from drawing closer to God. While we should be in our pursuit of Jesus, we have to remember that we are going to mess up Bible reading plan. We may have gotten distracted from praying a few times. Sometimes, we just blow it because, well let’s face it, we’re human. While this shouldn’t be our excuse, we also cannot give in to guilt, shame, or condemnation if we did not follow the discipline we would like for that day.

•  Obedience is better than sacrifice – It takes sacrifice to accomplish any glorious feat, let alone the basic spiritual desires we’d want to see in our lives. Here’s a question for you: How can you be obedient to the discipline the Lord is calling you to? It’s common for extreme reactions to surface, such as sacrificing too much (not go out with friends or family for the sake of pursuing God) or not sacrificing enough/at all (Instead of getting on social media in the morning I should read my Bible plan. Instead, I attempt to read it intermittently when I have free time versus prioritizing it with a bit of sacrifice). The key is understanding that you can obey what the Lord is calling you to do right now – so what sacrifice will be taken to keep you in step with the Spirit? (Galatians 5:25). What needs to be ‘given up’ so that you can take on more of the fruit of the Spirit? (Galatians 5:22-23). The primary measure of proof that we are Gods is for us to love one another; they will know we are Christ-followers by the love we have (John 13:35). If we are to train well and to have the endurance to make it to the end, love has to be our deliberate focal point. Again, in all we do and say, it has to be love.

After running through these points (had to throw a pun in there!), it’s clear that there’s a call where we need to be intentional about our faith. While there are areas of our life that we cannot control, there’s much to be said about what’s in our hands. I’d encourage you this week to meditate on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and to answer the questions given in the points above. Ask the Lord to reveal to you where your priorities are and how those are shown in your daily life. This isn’t meant to demoralize you but to motivate you to be all that the Lord has for you to be! My desire for you towards the end of your race with the Lord would be to hear these words from Paul as assurance that you’ve run well:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7 🏃‍♀️

May it be so!

Have a blessed week!

---

[1] Please read Matthew 25:14-30. The master said this phrase to both of the faithful servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (21, 23). Even though they started with different increments of talents, they both doubled what they were given. Therefore, the focus of the story is on faithfulness with what we have, not how much we make.