Daily devotion – A slow and steady pace in the race of life.
Heb 12:1
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
The writer of Hebrews tells us that our life and walk before Christ is like a race, that God has set a course for our lives so that we may live to please Him.
I spoke to someone training for the New York Marathon to be run later this year. He said that he is practicing with a number of half marathons as he leads up to the big event. A marathon as we know is nothing like a 100-metre sprint. A burst of running where some now complete it in just over nine seconds.
Each day we wake to serve the Lord, each day God gives us to live for Him, is another step and part of the journey toward completing our race. It takes time, endurance and persistence. There are seasons in our walk with God where it seems we take more steps backward than forward.
But we are not to be dismayed or put off by what appears to be a slow process. Instead, let us remember that every day we continue on that racecourse, we are growing closer to the finish line and the prize that awaits us in Christ.
This is why the writer of Hebrews says, “let us run with patience.” It speaks of steadfastness, endurance and consistency.
You will remember how God had all the animals make their way to the ark Noah had built, two by two. Some of those creatures were certainly not fleet-footed, yet Mr and Mrs snail still made it safely to the ark!
The Christian life is not about how fast we run compared to others, but that we keep following Jesus faithfully until the end.
Gal 6:9
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Keep going, one step at a time, and by the grace of God you will finish the race.