What Does It Take to Run the Race of Faith?

Imagine getting ready for a marathon, lacing up well used shoes, but this race is different, it stretches beyond the horizon and you’re not sure what route you’ll be taking, also you don’t know when it’s going to finish. The Christian journey is kind of like that, it’s a race with peaks and valleys and you know that there is going to be pain in places, trials through which you have to persevere if you mean to finish well, but there will also be moments of exhilaration, glorious views that you might never have seen if you didn’t start the race.

But is there a way to run this race better so that you might be assured of finishing it well? How do you keep going when the road just keeps going or when distractions try to tempt you to veer off course, or when you get that stitch or blister which becomes a source of ongoing discouragement that you seemingly can’t ignore? These are questions many of you might resonate with whether you've been running this race for decades or if you’ve just started on the trail.

Our passage this week in Hebrews 11 & 12 should be an encouragement to us because it paints a picture of our Old Testament heroes of the faith who were actually just as flawed as we are. These were people who made mistakes as we do, they struggled with pride and selfishness, and all manner of failings, but despite the extraordinary challenges they experienced and their lapses of judgement, their faith in God held. These are the people who are presented as this “great cloud of witnesses” in our passage, and it’s not that they are looking on and cheering us on witnessing our race, their witness is a testimony of the faithfulness of God in their lives, acknowledgement that these flawed people finished their race in faith well. This should be an encouragement for us in our journey.

Have you noticed how when a world record is broken, the flood gates open and so many more begin to break that benchmark. The encouragement of belief that comes from the success of one person, gives us belief and confidence that it can be done. In a similar way the Hebrews 11 heroes should give us confidence and encouragement in our race, not only because of their successful faith journey but because of the one in whom they placed their faith. Was it just their own sheer willpower that they might boast, or was there something or someone who carried them through to the end?

I can’t help but to place here the sovereign promise of God from the gospel of John 6, “37 All those the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” If by the power of the Spirit we embark on this race, our Lord Jesus will carry us through to the prize. Take a moment to read Hebrews 11:29 – 12:3 and may God bless you and keep you in your race.

Blessings

Josh