There is a story in the book, "Hugs for Mom" by John William Smith that tells of a young girl, Tami, who was competing at a regional cross country track meet.  Her mother who was over forty years old, wearing a skirt, patent leather shoes, and was carrying a purse was there to cheer her daughter on.  It was a two mile race over rough terrain and Tami was in trouble.  Her muscles were cramping, her stride broken and she was gasping for breath. When her mother saw what was happening, she ran to where her daughter could hear her encouragement.  When Tami heard her mother's voice, she was able to regroup and finish the race.

 What I really liked about this true story was the fact that this mother, who had not trained, nor dressed for running, ran alongside and encouraged her daughter, shouting, "Run Tami, run - Run Tami, run," for the last 100 yards of the race!  The best part for me though, was that Tami's mother was not encouraging her to win the race - but to finish it!  In reading this story, the Lord revealed a spiritual truth to me and that is what I want to share with you today.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT), "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

We read in 1 Corinthians 9:24 and 25b (NKJV)), "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  25....Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown."

Philippians 3:12 and 13 (NKJV), "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."  According to the NSFL Bible commentary, "the imagery of the words 'reaching forward' in verse 13 is that of a runner on the course straining every muscle as he runs toward the goal, his hand stretched out to grasp it."  Can you see it?

Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7 (NASB20), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." 

As a believer in Christ, the race of faith is our life's journey.  Our goal as we run our race is to finish strong in our faith!  However, we can see clearly by looking at more scripture, that this race is not always easy.

Hebrews 10:36 (NASB20),  "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised."  See, living a Christian life is not a sprint, it is a marathon.  The word hypomone, the Greek word for endurance, used in Hebrews 10:36 means: steadfastness, constancy, and endurance.

Look at what the Apostle Paul told the Galatians in Galatians 5:7 (NASB20), "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?"  You will face opposition!

Each one of us will complete the course before us. The only choice we will have regarding it is how we will complete it.  Each one of us will face a day when our time on this physical planet will come to an end.

The good news for us is found in Jeremiah 29:11, which reveals that God has a plan for us, a plan for good and not calamity. We choose whether we will follow His good plan or choose to go our own way.

When Eric was pastoring, we always saw all of the members of our congregation as "our children." (Even those 10 or 20 years older than us).  At times, we had to fulfill the role of Tami's mom and encourage them to ,"Run, children, run!"  The call as pastor was to help them realize the race they were in and help them finish well and win.  Then, sometimes we needed the members of the congregation (the body of Christ) to encourage us to stand strong and to continue running the race.

We are told in Ephesians 6:5 and 6 we should be slaves of Christ and not men pleasers and as slaves of Christ, we should do the will of God from the heart.

Our race of faith is about doing the will of the Father.  Jesus' words recorded in John 17:4b (NKJV) were, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do."

What does doing His will look like?  Here are some examples:

Loving your neighbor as yourself

Praying without ceasing

Rejoicing ever more

Studying to show yourself approved

Bringing the tithe into the storehouse

Being obedient

Abiding in His Word

Having faith

Forgiving

Not forsaking assembling together

Loving Him with all of your heart, soul, and strength

Encouraging one another

Being an ambassador for Christ

Acts 20:24 (NKJV), "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

When we chose to accept Christ, we were translated from unbelief to belief and that launched us into a life of faith.  We do have an enemy who comes against us, thus, we face hardships, afflictions, and trials intended to cause our faith to dim, waver, or be destroyed.  The devil would like nothing more than to cause us to walk away from our faith.  This is the battle the Apostle Paul was speaking of when he told Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith" in 1 Timothy 6:12a.  We face a constant battle to steadfastly continue to believe and trust God and His Word.

To quote Tom Ascol, President of Founders Ministries, "What makes faith hard and unbelief easy is losing sight of things that are true."  To be victorious in this fight for our faith, we must arm ourselves with God's Word and continuously keep our focus on "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

As I close, I encourage you with these thoughts:

You must run your own race.

You cannot run someone else's race.

You must also fight your own good fight of faith.

You ultimately cannot fight some one else's fight, nor can they fight yours.

However, Galatians 6:2a (NKJV) reads, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Then, we see in Ecclesiastes 4:9 and 10, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble."  We all need to be like Tami's mother and be an encourager.  We need to run alongside, pray with, and for each other.  Sometimes, we need to help carry someone's load. We can remind each other to keep our eyes on the finish line and to not allow anything or anyone to distract us.

 Run to win!

 Fight to win!

 There is a marvelous prize awaiting you!

 You will enter into His glorious presence for all eternity!