Get In the Race

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Recently, I finished my first half marathon in 13 years.

I finished in 8,800th place at the Disney World Half Marathon - thank you very much - out of 18,420. I finished in the top half, but I got first place in waddling. I waddled that half marathon like a beast!

Along the route, as an encouragement, about every half a mile, there stood a group of people cheering on the runners to finish the race, and part of the fun included these people holding up humorous signs… which by the way, after ten miles, nothing is funny. If you ever find yourself standing in one of these cheer squads, then don’t expect anyone to laugh at your jokes after ten miles.

Some of the signs read:

“You run better than the government.”

“You look hot when you sweat.”

“Don’t trust a fart after mile 9.”

One of the signs, however, that appeared quite frequently along the route read this:

HOLD UP SIGN

0.0

A number of people held up variations of this sign. By far, this was the most popular sign I saw. To this very day, I even see this ‘0.0’ slogan on car bumper stickers around town.

SHOW PIC

Perhaps, you have one on your car, celebrating the fact that you don’t run.

While all of these signs, though, did put a smile on my face and temporarily gave me a good feeling of relief, quite honestly, I felt mixed emotions about the 0.0 signs, in particular.

I felt sad for those who feel proud of standing on the sidelines.

Perhaps you may never run a half marathon, but let’s lift our sights above sports and into life in general. Are you holding a 0.0 sign for some area of your life in which you need to participate?

I think sometimes we too easily give up on those areas of our life that feel too tough or raise anxiety within us.

I remember once talking with a young man who told me that he wanted to give up on dating because his recent dates ended poorly, so we talked about the situation, and at the end of our conversation, I asked him: are you willing to trade in your dream of a family one day - your dream of marriage, raising children, experiencing intimacy, building a family, and so forth - because your last two dates ended poorly and caused you some amount of pain and grief?

My heart grieved for this young man.

How often do we trade our dreams for something far less satisfying because of fear, anxiety, or the effort required to complete it?

Far too often, I have sat on the other side of individuals who have traded their dreams for a 0.0 sign, and my charge for us to consider today is simple, yet profound: “Get back in the race.”

Get back in the race.

Have you chosen a 0.0 lifestyle when Jesus called you to an abundant lifestyle?

Your life was never intended to sit on the sidelines, holding a 0.0 sign, content in your complacency. That’s no life for you or anyone.

David, one of the early kings of Israel, author of many of the Psalms recorded in the Bible, a man who made a lot of poor decisions but was called a man after God’s own heart, wrote:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

God wonderfully and fearfully made you.

Wonderfully means you are a masterpiece. You have been made with awe and complexity.

Fearfully means the Creator himself was in awe of you.

You are not a mistake or a blip on the radar. You are the pinnacle of creation!

God knit you in your mother’s womb.

God breathed life into you.

God is in awe of you.

God crossed the boundaries of heaven and earth to find you.

Nothing about you is a mistake, and Jesus promised you satisfaction and abundant joy.

Have you chosen a 0.0 lifestyle when Jesus has called you to live an abundant lifestyle?

Somewhere along the way, all of us, including you and me and everyone, have fallen for sin lies that have distorted these good truths for whispers that tell us:

‘Give up.’

‘You’re not worth it.’

‘You don’t have what it takes.’

‘You’re all alone.’

‘If people really knew you, then…’

Do any of these whispers sound familiar to you?

And when these whispered lies come to us, then how often do we fall for them and choose:

‘Avoidance’

‘Self-preservation’

‘Disengagement’

‘Isolation’

‘Hatred’

These choices are just another way to say 0.0.

[[[HOLD UP SIGN]]]

For these choices lead us away from our true identity, our true God, our true self, and drive us to the sidelines.

During my teenage years into my early twenties, these same whispers drove me to the sidelines away from those who loved me.

During this season, unresolved emotions from my parent’s divorce began to surface in my life  through inexplicable anger. In many instances, which did not did not warrant a major response, I lost control of my emotions and spilled out my anger all over those closest to me.

I distinctly remember knowing that my anger was connected to my deep hurt from my father’s absence. I also knew that my path forward into healing required giving attention to that wound, but I felt afraid to feel those deep emotions and admit my own weaknesses to overcome that pain on my own, so much to my own demise, I avoided it believing that if people really knew me, then maybe they might leave me, too. Thus, effectively, I traded my God-given healing, which I did later receive, for 0.0 sign on the sidelines.

Now reflecting upon those years, if I could tell myself anything, then I would say:

‘Ryan, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.’

‘God created you and knows you.’

‘Don’t fall for the sin distorted lies that seek to separate you from your Heavenly Father and from those who love you.’

‘You have nothing to fear.’

If my story resonates with you, if you right now you are trading your God-given identity for some distorted lie about yourself to cover a gash with a bandaid, or to numb your pain with some kind of temporary sense of relief, then friend, may I tell you:

‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made.’

‘God created you, knows you… and loves you just the same’

‘Don’t fall for the sin distorted lies that seek to separate you from your Heavenly Father and from those who love you.’

‘You have nothing to fear.’

Get back in the race.

You are not meant for the sidelines. You are not a 0.0.

The Apostle Paul wrote one of his many letters collected in the New Testament to a church in a city called Philippi about 20 years after Jesus’ resurrection.

In his letter to the church, Paul addressed a group of first century believers, who faced all kinds of persecution at the hands of Roman citizens.

As a result, many of them left the church, choosing to preserve their own life rather than advance the good news salvation of Jesus.

These men and women chose to stop racing for fear and stand off to the safe sidelines, but Jesus didn’t call us to safety. In fact, Jesus didn’t call us to self-preservation, either, although many of us choose it. Rather, Jesus said:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:24-25 NLT

Paul lived this passage. He understood the pain and challenge of persecution, which filled his words with great meaning when he called out these early believers on their behavior. In fact, Paul wrote this letter in a Roman prison cell and would never again taste freedom… because he stayed in the race, and do you know how he did it?!

He stayed in the race by:

Focusing on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

In every joy and hardship, Paul maintained his focus on one thing and one thing only: ‘to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize.

He never wavered from the heavenly vision, and he beckons all of those who follow Christ to do the same: Focus and stay in the race!

Notice, though, how Paul qualified his statement by telling how he ‘forgot the past and looked forward to what lies ahead,’ so let me ask you this question:

How often does your past define your future?

Now, I certainly don’t mean to minimize your past hurts, nor do I think that Paul intended to do that either when he wrote ‘forget the past.’

But I am asking whether or not your past defines you.

Friends, the future to which Jesus is calling you is so much greater than any hurt or pain from your past. In fact, the heavenly prize to which Jesus is calling you is restoration from our past hurts into a new and restored life.

Listen, whenever we allow our past hurts to dictate our emotions today or define us as individuals, then we give those past hurt power that they don’t deserve to influence whether or not we press on to receive our heavenly prize in Christ Jesus!

Thus why the gift of forgetting the past may be one of the most gracious God-given gifts that you may ever receive.

True maturity, Paul insists, beckons every Jesus follower to keep pressing…. Keep going! No one fully arrives in this life. Humility recognizes that all of us still need to grow, so get in the race! All of us need God’s lavished grace and undeserved mercy on us through Christ Jesus!

All of us fall short, so let your Heavenly Father meet you in the mess and chaos and tensions and bruises. Let your Heavenly Father meet you in the race.

Several years ago, one of the great indoor track and field runners of our time, Heather Dorniden, modeled for us how to run the race so as to win the prize. Take a look…

VIDEO of Heather Dorniden

No one would have faulted Heather Dorniden for walking onto the sideline. She ran a great race until she got tripped. But Heather Dorniden held onto a different vision for herself that did not include standing on the sideline. She’s a runner, and she was going to finish that race, even if she finished last. The difference between Heather Dorniden and a person who stands on the sidelines with a 0.0 sign is that Heather Dorniden made the decision to finish her race before it ever started.

You will fall in this race. There is no question about that. But the time to decide whether or not you will to finish the race needs to happen now before you fall.

No one thinks clearly on the ground after a hard fall or a tough hurt or a difficult failure.

At least for me, after a tough fall, the typical thoughts that immediately fill my mind include pain, doubt, worry, fear, and the like. No one makes sound decisions after a fall. Thus why you need to decide now to keep pressing no matter what.

Every moment has value, don’t waste a single moment. Sometimes after a fall, we grieve too long. If Dorniden had wasted time on the ground feeling bad for herself, then she most certainly would have lost.

When you fall, then just get back up and start running again.

Decide to stay in the race with Jesus. In fact, let Jesus lift you up and carry you onto your eventual finish.

Then, when the fall happens - and it will happen - your next move will already have been determined with a renewed mind and a secure heart.

In a letter written to Jewish converts to Christianity, the author of the Book of Hebrews also used a running metaphor to describe faith, which said:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

The author wants you to imagine an arena filled with other runners who have already finished ahead of you, celebrating and cheering for you as a witness to the life of faith!

In so many way, running is a solo sport. Only you alone can move each foot in front of the other from start to finish. But in so many other ways, running is a team sport. We need each other to help our minds cross the finish line.

In the final mile of my half marathon, several runners who had finished their race lined up to cheer on other runners like me who were still pressing on. Quite honestly, that meant more to me than any of the other cheers from people holding up a 0.0 sign because they knew my race. They knew my pain. They knew my mental anguish. And they also knew that I could finish.

Our faith functions in the same way. Only you and you alone can make the decision to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. And yet, we need each other every step of the way for encouragement, accountability, and companionship.

So strip off every weight that slows you down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.

Often the slips that cause us to fall short happen from seemingly small and insignificant decisions, not major life crashes. Heather Dorniden tripped from the subtle glance of another runner’s foot.

What are the little things that trip you up?

- Attitude

- Gossip

- Lust

Don’t take short cuts or cheat along the way.

Running with companions help us see what we may miss on our own. They keep us honest in the race. Who is that for you? Are you a companion for someone else? Running with fellow journeyers makes the race sweet.

This week, let me challenge you to sweat the small stuff.

The little things in your life matter, such as your thoughts, your devotional habits, your relationships, maintaining your commitments, letting your yes be yes and your no be no, arriving on time to your commitments, keeping your living space clean and orderly, eating a healthy diet, keeping your fitness a priority, staying far away from gossip, sharing your life with others in a group.

Sweat the small stuff.

No one becomes trapped in pornography or an alcoholic overnight. The big tsunamis of life typically start as a small and insignificant ripple.

Remember what Solomon wrote in his Book of Proverbs:

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. Proverbs 24:16

The godly man will fall. That is a promise. So long as we live, we will fall short. You will trip in this race.

The goal isn’t to perfectly run the race. The goal is to run the race so as to win the prize. The question is not when will you fall, but will you get up after you do?

One musician once wrote, “The Saints are just the sinners who fall down and then get up.”

Thus why we need each other. You don’t have to get up alone. Some choose to do so, and it’s a lonely life and not one that God intended for you to live.

In order to endure the race to the end, you need a regular work out regimen filled with spiritual disciplines to equip you for the challenges that you will face. The two absolute primary disciplines that every believer must cultivate are regular bible reading and prayer.

Nothing matters more to your spiritual life than understanding the Word of God and listening for the Word of God in prayer.

A good runner must run and eat well. All other disciplines, such as pull ups, push ups, sit ups, and others only add on to those two fundamental disciplines in a runner’s life.

In your journey ‘to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us,’ begin first with a regular routine of Bible reading and prayer. Then, bring on other disciplines, such as journaling and fasting, to strengthen your faithful resolve!

Do this on your own, and also, do this with others.

Your faith isn’t a solo race. Don’t run it alone.

Friends, get in the race.

Put down the 0.0 sign.

TEAR THE SIGN!

Take the bumper sticker off. Your life were never intended to stay on the sidelines.

Fix your eyes on Jesus and stay focused on what’s ahead of you! Let’s do it! The race is on!