Are You Running a Spiritual Marathon?
I’ve never woken up and thought to myself, Hey, today seems like a great day to run a marathon.
In fact, marathon running has never been my first thought in the morning. It never crossed my mind until recently, when I caught up with an old friend who had trained for one during winter in New York City.
My first thought was that she was crazy, but then curiosity crept in. I started contemplating the appeal of putting 26.2 miles of distance behind you. Generally speaking, I do enjoy a good run, but after about thirty minutes, I am aching to get back home (mainly to eat)! So the idea of running 26.2 miles at one time—well, that’s a foreign concept to me.
Even though I’m not physically training for a 26.2-mile race right now, I feel like I’m in a marathon in this season of life. There’s a lot of ground that I’ve covered and a lot of ground that remains. Drawing out my energy, this race is testing my levels of endurance.
I’ve had other marathons in my life: trying times at work, busy times with family, searching for a new church community, moving away from friends and family. But my current marathon with my health is a completely different race for me. Trying to battle health problems that can only be managed and not cured—I know this marathon is waning on me.
Are you in a marathon, too?
Daily, I struggle with frustration and disappointment. I follow the so-called experts and make drastic lifestyle changes. Yet I’m told it could take several months for any results to surface. I really don’t know where the finish line is.
Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “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” (NIV).
Just as I’ve never woken up and had the innate desire to run a marathon, I also never contemplated my spiritual life as a marathon.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that once I became a Christian, I went from sinner to saved. That was the end of the story (and the race). I have been holding on to the idea that salvation is a one-stop shop, and thus the fight with sin and pain is over. Yet, the first verse of Hebrews 12 tells me this isn’t the 100-meter dash, but the 26.2-mile long haul.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had to step back and reframe my thinking about the Christian life and the endeavor to become more like Christ. Instead of simply being a point on the map, the Christian life is a journey. It’s a journey where, according to Hebrews 12:2, I am to have my eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom my faith relies.
But in the midst of my marathon, I’ve been focusing more on the race itself, the constant struggles and trying circumstances. My mind has been weighed down by disappointment and feelings of failure as the finish line is nowhere in sight.
It’s been hard to grapple with the fact that my own strength and ability isn’t enough to finish this race. My human nature tells me to work harder, to run faster, to do better. Yet in the middle of this race, my energy reserves are already drained.
This is why I think Jesus tells me to look to him, instead of inward to myself. I have to cling to God’s promises that with Christ, I will not grow weary nor lose heart. Only in Jesus am I given the strength and endurance to continue.
Now, in those moments when I don’t think I can keep running, I think about where this marathon began. No matter what, I can be comforted by the fact that I am not at the starting line. I am not where I started.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV).
I have made progress in my marathon. That in itself is a testament to God’s faithfulness and a reminder of his love for us. Though I’m not at the finish line, the beautiful progress I’ve made thus far is due to the magnificent grace and love of God.
Dear Lord, thank you for your grace. In the marathon I’m running right now, may I look to you, the author and perfecter of my faith, instead of my circumstances. By your grace, you have brought me this far, and by your grace, may you bring me to the finish line. Help me to run with perseverance this race that you’ve called me to. Amen.
You’ve got this! Keep running!
is a business consultant in corporate America by day, Christian lifestyle blogger by night, and probably writing novels or traveling on the weekends. Currently residing in Georgia, she is a Southern girl at heart and loves drinking coffee, speaking French, listening to foreign music, and reading books on her porch. She likes to encourage young women through unexpected changes, big life transitions, new experiences, and doing that “adulting” thing. Kara blogs at karajlovett.com.
Photograph © Andrew Tanglao, used with permission
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