“Pain in the race”
“Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great crowd 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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and protector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, 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 sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12: 1-3
When we allow obstacles like guilt, anger, sadness, envy or even jealousness build up inside of us they become a hindrance in our relationship with God and with others. As we live with these obstacles they can become a pain in our lives. Occasionally when running you can get a pain, called a side stitch, in your side which can be really annoying. Once in a while I’m able to bear with it and keep on running, but most of the time I have to stop and stretch out to get rid of the pain. The pain in our lives imitates the same pattern. When we allow it to build up inside of us it will continue to be incessant until we take care of it.
Sometimes taking care of the pain is just taking a step back and altering your “life course” and it goes away. Just like a runner would adjust their posture or check their surroundings to make sure they are still running the right race. Most of the time, however, the pain in our life requires direct attention. Whether that is admitting you’re wrong, forgiving someone, apologizing or fixing a bad situation it needs to be taken care of before it becomes a large pain that puts you in a serious situation.
One of the hardest things in admitting you are wrong is forgiving yourself for it. It’s easy to act unobtrusively, but lowering yourself, admitting your fault and fixing it takes a lot of humility. When seeking forgiveness and reconciliation it is very important to forgive yourself so you are not carrying around personal guilt.
If we try and ignore the pain, it might go away for a while, but it will most definitely return and sometimes even worse than before. The more we allow our pain to simmer on the back burner the more it will brew and cause more of a mess when the lid is removed. When a runner has an injury or a pain it is very important that he addresses it right away before it gets any worse. If he continues to run with a pain, then he runs the risk of doing permanent damage to his body. We can’t allow ourselves to be convinced that if we ignore the pain it will go away, because it won’t. It will always be there knocking and adding to our daily trials.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7
As we are faced with life’s many trials we need to avoid allowing pain a foothold inside of us. We need to stop and make it right immediately and not keep pushing along because it will only make us weaker. It is important to keep our eyes on the path God has set before us and it is vital that we don’t allow the scenery this world advertises to us to distract us from God. Even though pain is a difficult thing to go through; when we take it to God He will turn it around and use it as a growing experience so we can not only face a trail, but gain from it! A runner needs good posture when running and the same is for our faith. When running “the race” we need to make sure that our focus is steadfast, our posture is confident and our footing is firm. Pain only tears that apart and leaves us vulnerable for attack or injury.
“Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Remember that even in times of hurt and pain, times when you feel like you don’t have any one there God IS! He will always love you no matter what pain or burden you have on your back. Pain often distracts us and makes us feel alone, but we can’t fall for its calculating deception. God is on our side and we can’t ever forget that! He is always there to take away our pain…..
“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” – Psalm 55:22