Devotion: Running Your Race
“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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)
The metaphor of life as a race is one to which I have always been able to relate. The ups and downs we encounter and the strength and determination required to finish a race are much like the characteristics we need to navigate life.
I was a scrawny middle schooler when I joined the track team. I have never been very athletically inclined, but I can run. One of my dad’s favorite stories to tell is about my very first race at my very first track meet. I was a middle distance runner. Middle distance runners must pace themselves to make it through 800 meters or more. I guess I had a lot of nervous energy that day. When the starting gun went off, I shot out at top speed. I raced ahead of the other runners. I remember feeling so excited that I was in first place! As you can imagine, I was not in first place for very long. The realization that I had to run around the track twice soon hit me. Along with this realization came others: there was no way I could keep up my current speed, and I had expended most of my energy in my spurt to first place. I tried to adjust, but it was too late. My legs and lungs were burning, and I quickly fell from first place to last place. While it makes an amusing anecdote now, I was pretty embarrassed as I dragged my last-place self across the finish line.
I took up running again when I was in my mid-thirties. Bad knees and a tricky back have presented new obstacles this time around, but I have learned and grown from my not-so-illustrious beginning as a middle schooler.
Shortly after I began running again, I was reading Hebrews 12 in my Bible. Every time I read it, I see something new. When I read it this time, I had just gone through a particularly difficult time. The first few words of the verse comforted me and the next words encouraged me. I could visualize fixing my eyes on Jesus, throwing off all things that hindered me. The hindrances of life, the hindrances of injuries, disappointments, and heartache. I was determined to run my race and run it well.
Isn’t the imagery of the Bible wonderful?
I have mentioned before how much I love words. I like to explore different translations of the Bible to see how certain phrases appear. While I love the verse just as much in the CSB translation where it says “keeping your eyes on Jesus,” the phrasing of the NIV translation really gets me. To me, the word fix in this phrase really packs a punch. “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” Don’t let your eyes wander; look right at him; keep going. With Jesus all things are possible.
If we run with only our own strength, our faith will waver and we will stumble through the difficult times, but when we surrender ourselves to Jesus and rely on him, we can run our race successfully. Difficult times will come, but with our eyes on Jesus, we will cross life’s finish line not ashamed or embarrassed, but victoriously!
Dear Lord,
Help us constantly fix our eyes on you in both the good times and the bad times. You are our constant. Thank you for the gift of grace and salvation. Thank you for shouldering our burdens. Help us turn everything over to you. Guide us through our days. May we feel your presence in all that we do. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Whenever I think of fixing my eyes on Jesus, this hymn comes to my mind.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
by Helen Hogwarth Lemmel
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Scripture for Reflection
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26 NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV)
Reach for More
Are you going through a difficult time right now? We would love to pray for you. Please join us at The Glorious Table Community page, where we join together in love and support.
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is a writer, blogger, and a middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, paddle board, and sometimes run. She blogs about faith, family, and enjoying the everyday life at danaherndon.com.
Photograph © Julia Raasch, used with permission
