Quit or Keep Running?

When I was in High School, I ran on the cross country team for three seasons.  Running was never a passion of mine, but it has helped me identify personally when Paul talks about running the race that God has set before him.  The race is a jumble of nerves, strain, exhaustion, and determination.  Few things are a taxing as running.  One thing that is more taxing in every way is following Jesus.

There was a annual race that we ran called the El Cap invitational, the first race of the season.  All three years I ran the race there were different memorable circumstances.  My first race was the only race of my "unillustrious" running career that I did not finish.  It is a source of embarrassment for me, because I could have finished.  I made more of an injury than necessary.  I turned my ankle halfway through, and my pace slowed.  Too proud to limp to the finish, I quit.  My placement would have been very poor - maybe even last - and in my mind I thought, "It's just an Invitational.  It really doesn't matter anyway..."  It was one of those justifications that showed a lack of character.  I've seen people walk to the finish line, working through cramps or extreme exhaustion.  To them, finishing was the key accomplishment.  If I couldn't finish well, I didn't want to finish at all.

That's how some treat their walk with Jesus Christ.  They've started strong, but they have sustained emotional injuries along the way.  Some have been deeply hurt by Christians or become disillusioned by people they've looked up to or counted on.  Perhaps you have been hurt by the assaults of the devil, or ensnared in sin that has separated you from contact with Jesus Christ.  You are facing a real temptation to quit:  quit a marriage, quit loving and giving like Christ, quit even following Christ.  Forget walking to the finish, forget working through the pain.  If I had to do it all over again, I would have finished the race based on principle alone.  The chief reason I didn't finish is because I was ashamed that people would scoff at my poor performance.  Not finishing at all is far worse.  When we consider the spiritual application, to not finish your Christian walk is to be disqualified, and that excludes us from heaven.  Saving face is nothing compared to losing your soul!

The second time I ran the Invitational we had just returned from a team-building camp in the Cuyamaca Mountains.  I brought new running shoes for the trip and that was a huge mistake!  Because of the winding trails and the type of shoe, I developed a blister on the bottom of my heel that was the size of a silver dollar.  It was both deep and painful.  I decided to run the Invitational anyway, and even though I drained it before the race by the end of the race the blister was literally the entire bottom of my heel.  With every step, my heel reminded me that it was not all well!  Paul talked about a "thorn in the flesh," a "messenger of Satan" that hindered him in his walk with the Lord.  Paul overcame this thorn, but it was a dogfight.  Sometimes we think that the Christian walk will be easy without hindrances.  When we allow God to give us new hearts we grow in sensitivity.  Thing will happen along our race that is painful, either to our bodies, hearts, or minds.  Jesus was a man of sorrow, well-acquainted with grief.  He gave such love only to be rejected by His own.  As Paul bore in his body the physical marks of abuse at the hands of evil men, so we will have our wounds along the way.  But we are more than overcomers through Christ, and He will give us the strength to finish well.

My final race at El Cap was memorable too, though I was not directly involved.  I had a teammate on Grossmont High School's varsity team named Richard K.  He loved to run, but I never saw him as a tough guy - that is, until that final race.  Richard had a lean build, and no one could have ever mistaken him for a wrestler, boxer, or someone with the temperament of a pit bull.  About 80 varsity runners lined up for the start and the gun went off.  The pack was squeezed in a narrow area and for the first 100 yards you need to mind knees and elbows.  Right in front of me, three or four guys hit the pavement and took down Richard with them.  I hurdled over the pile and had no time to even look over my shoulder.  Before I could even let my mind drift about how Richard was doing, he blew right past me like I was standing still, knees and elbows bleeding, a look of fierce determination across his face.  I have no idea how far I finished behind him, but I guarantee you that I saw him in a new light after that.  He had my confidence not only as a teammate but a man.

The thing about following Jesus is that sometimes we are going to get knocked down.  Satan and circumstances have ways of landing gut shots and spine tingling uppercuts that throw us off our feet.  It might be an illness, a relationship, your boss, trials, persecutions, or perhaps you lose your footing.  Richard didn't fall on his own:  he was taken down.  The devil wants nothing more for you to be taken down by others and to lose your witness.  Our God is able to keep us from stumbling, but if we do fall He is able to lift up our heads, place us back on our feet, and we can jump back in the race.  May each of us be able to say like Paul in 2 Tim. 4:7:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  We all have been given a race to run.  We can either quit or jump to our feet and push harder for the finish than ever before.  There will be pain, and there will be nagging injuries.  We will be tempted to quit.  But the fact still remains:  if God is for us, who can be against us?