Life Is A Marathon

“It’s like a marathon. You just have to take one step at a time.” This is what someone recently said to my husband. Well, this got me thinking about life being a marathon. You just have to take one step at a time. Sometimes we can’t see what is around the corner, but we can’t stop or we won’t get to our destination. Sometimes we are going up a big hill and can’t quite see over the top. It is scary when you are driving down the road and can’t see over that hill. I often put on the brakes, but if I were to stop, I would roll back down the hill and have to start all over. It is the same way with life. Imagine the movie, “Chariots of Fire” and the theme song. I am sure you can hear it in your head. Now picture your life and you running through it taking one step at a time with that music blaring in your ears. Doesn’t it just make you want to keep on going, trying to run a little faster? It inspires you? Well, the Bible has some pretty good verses that inspire us to keep going, to take the next step in the journey that we call life. Sometimes we just feel like giving up and throwing in the towel. We want to give up on the situation at work and just quit. We want to give up on that marriage and quit, or give up on that relationship with a family member. We want to give up on that diet or trying to kick a bad habit. Sometimes it is so much easier to give up. But if you give up then all that hard work you have put into this situation will be for nothing. So, I urge you, DON’T GIVE UP!!!!! Just take the next step. As the movie, “What About Bob?” tells us, it’s about baby steps. You may just need one more step before you can see over that mountain or around the corner. Hebrews 12:1 pleads with us, “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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.” Being a Christian is a race to the finish line. It is not about who wins or gets there first, but like a marathon, it is an honor just to finish and receive the prize. When you persevere in your Christian walk (or should I say run?), the Bible tells us there are some rewards. We develop perseverance through trials and sufferings. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope,” (Romans 5:3-4) If we learn how to persevere by continuing through life without giving up our faith, we will develop character which will in turn give us hope. The hope of heaven that is and an eternal life with God. Sounds like some pretty good rewards for persevering to me. Not only will you be rewarded by this, but others will see your testimony and will be inspired to keep going as well. 2 Thessalonians 1:4 says, “. . . among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” People are watching you and how you react to things in your life, especially those who are questioning God. Your suffering and perseverance is a testimony to others of the work of God in one’s life. Not only will you have a great testimony, but you will become more mature as James 1:3-4 say. “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And someday when it is all over, and it will be over eventually, you will look back and see how blessed you have been by God. “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,” (James 5:11). Whatever you are going through. Whatever situation you want to give up on, just keep going and don’t give up. If not in this lifetime, then in eternity the race will be over and you will be blessed. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. If you think about how far you have to go, you may get overwhelmed. But if you only concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other it seems a lot easier. That is how you finish a marathon. When you are so tired and wanting to just stop running, if you can just put one foot forward, then you can keep going. So, keep going and as Dori, a fish from the movie “Finding Nemo” says, “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.” Just keep swimming and I promise you will make it to your destination.