Recently loads of people, including myself, have gone exercise mad for some reason. I've taken to jogging and so far I've been on two (yes I still count that as exercise mad). To my surprise I have found jogging really quite hard. It's not because I have have stitch, or my legs are hurting or anything like that- I find it hard because it's so mentally challenging!
On my run today I couldn't help but think about my relationship with God being like a race. Hebrews 12:1 says '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.' My relationship with God is a 'race for life', and it definitely isn't a 100m sprint, it's a long and hard cross country race! I have learnt there are certain do's and don't which really help my literal running and my 'race for life'...
Firstly, don't stop! Ever find that when you're on a jog and have to stop at a traffic light or something you remember how nice it feels to be stood still but then when you start running again it takes a while to get back into the rhythm? It's the same with Christianity. Jesus never said that once you give your life to him, it will suddenly be all rosey, in fact for some people it's harder. The Christian life needs endurance. But we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Like energy, the Holy Spirit is always in us, keeping us going and giving us those sudden bursts of encouragement, comfort, wisdom etc etc.
Secondly, I have found it helpful to not think about my body when I'm running. If I think about how to improve my running technique or anything I become aware of how tired and rubbish I feel. God doesn't want us to try and improve ourselves. To jog, all you need is a route and a body that works: In life, God has provided you with all that you need and your race has been 'marked out for you', you just need to run it.
Thirdly, keep your mind off temptations. When I run I sometimes make the mistake of thinking about how nice it would be to have a glass of water or have a lie down or something. Temptations make the run harder, not easier. In the same way, in life when we give in to temptation, no wonder the race gets harder! The new appealing things, whatever they may be, replace the need for God and we forget why we're running in the first place.
I look proper gross when I run, I go ridiculously red and sweaty. Sometimes the 'race for life' is like that too. You give up the race to become the most successful or the coolest, or the most popular person because you're running a better race.
And why run the 'race for life' instead? Well, because when I finish the 'race for life', I won't arrive at my boring, empty house with no reward. I will arrive to my home in heaven and my God will say to me, 'Welldone, my good and faithful servant!'
