Don’t Quit Now
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.—1 Corinthians 9:24
One series of events in the Olympics that I especially enjoy is track and field. I love to watch the relay races, the long distant runs, and the short sprints. That is probably because I was into track and field when I was in high school.
I remember watching one Olympic race, a long-distance run, where one of the runners started off in the back. Then he moved up toward the middle. After that, with about four laps to go, he suddenly broke ahead and took the lead. I thought, Is he going to make it? Could he possibly win? Sure enough, in the last few laps, he fell back. The next thing I knew, he was in second place, third place, fourth place, and fifth place. He didn’t even win a medal.
I know what it is like to be in the last lap of a race, to be giving it your all, only to have your arms and your legs feel like rubber. It is so hard to keep running when that happens.
The Bible often compares the Christian life to running a race.In fact, the Apostle Paul frequently used athletic terms to describe what it is to be a Christian. In 1 Corinthians, he wrote, “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” (1 Corinthians 9:24). And in his farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus, he said, “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 . . . ” (Acts 20:24).
So let’s not quit running our race. Let’s run to win a prize. Let’s finish with joy.
Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Confined to a wheelchair as a quadriplegic for more than 40 years, Joni knows well the subject of suffering. And yet, it is her pain that has drawn her so intimately close to Jesus and is the reason she exudes Christ’s character and joy.
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