Running and Weariness
Today has brought me to meditation upon these two words. Often times in the new testament Paul tells us that we are running a race.
In 1 Corinthians 9
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
In Galatians 2
2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
In Galatians 5
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
In Hebrews 12
1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In Philippians 2
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
In 2 John 1
9Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
This one seems to suggest that we can be in danger of running ahead of Him and in so doing we leave Him and His teaching.
Now, onto the weariness front -
Isaiah 40
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 119
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
Matthew 11
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Galatians 6
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Hebrews 12
1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Revelation 2
1"To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
To run in a race is hard work. It requires training. It requires effort. It requires concentration. It requires focus. This race we are running is not a 100 meter dash. It is a race that goes on every single day of our lives. Surely, running day after day all day long would make even the most disciplined of runners grow weary and burnt out on the whole running thing. It seems that many of us, as Christians, are aware that we are running a race - but we don't like to be aware of the danger of growing weary. When we grow weary we usually become idle and stagnant. We get burnt out. We almost always grow "weary of doing good". I am starting to see that the biggest problem we have is that we are self reliant. We think that we can run this race in our own strength. Sure, we come to God when we think it is something bigger than we can handle but in the small stuff - no problem, we got that covered. Sometimes even in the not so small stuff we decide that our assessment of the situation follows logic and reason and that little voice that the Spirit is speaking to us that seems so impossible gets pushed aside. Is it any wonder why we do not experience what Isaiah 40 says He will provide for us? Oh, we all love the imagery and love to quote that He will lift us up on wings like eagles...but seriously, do we trust Him to do it? Trust is a big thing. When we hear the voice of our Lord, firstly we should be aware that it is Him because if we know Him then we know His voice. Secondly, we must follow Him even if it defies what we think is 'sensible'. If it is truly His voice and His will - He will make a way! The only way we can avoid becoming weary, is to rely fully on Him. When we have nothing left, He will provide all we need when we are in His will! Every time we are told to combat weariness with considering Christ, with waiting upon the Lord, with going to Him. We are not told to combat weariness with taking a little rest or a break from what we have been called to. To do so is to follow someone who is not the one who called us.
In 1 Corinthians 9
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
In Galatians 2
2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
In Galatians 5
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
In Hebrews 12
1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In Philippians 2
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
In 2 John 1
9Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
This one seems to suggest that we can be in danger of running ahead of Him and in so doing we leave Him and His teaching.
Now, onto the weariness front -
Isaiah 40
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 119
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
Matthew 11
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Galatians 6
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Hebrews 12
1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Revelation 2
1"To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
To run in a race is hard work. It requires training. It requires effort. It requires concentration. It requires focus. This race we are running is not a 100 meter dash. It is a race that goes on every single day of our lives. Surely, running day after day all day long would make even the most disciplined of runners grow weary and burnt out on the whole running thing. It seems that many of us, as Christians, are aware that we are running a race - but we don't like to be aware of the danger of growing weary. When we grow weary we usually become idle and stagnant. We get burnt out. We almost always grow "weary of doing good". I am starting to see that the biggest problem we have is that we are self reliant. We think that we can run this race in our own strength. Sure, we come to God when we think it is something bigger than we can handle but in the small stuff - no problem, we got that covered. Sometimes even in the not so small stuff we decide that our assessment of the situation follows logic and reason and that little voice that the Spirit is speaking to us that seems so impossible gets pushed aside. Is it any wonder why we do not experience what Isaiah 40 says He will provide for us? Oh, we all love the imagery and love to quote that He will lift us up on wings like eagles...but seriously, do we trust Him to do it? Trust is a big thing. When we hear the voice of our Lord, firstly we should be aware that it is Him because if we know Him then we know His voice. Secondly, we must follow Him even if it defies what we think is 'sensible'. If it is truly His voice and His will - He will make a way! The only way we can avoid becoming weary, is to rely fully on Him. When we have nothing left, He will provide all we need when we are in His will! Every time we are told to combat weariness with considering Christ, with waiting upon the Lord, with going to Him. We are not told to combat weariness with taking a little rest or a break from what we have been called to. To do so is to follow someone who is not the one who called us.
posted by Monica at 3:10 PM
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