It doesn't take long for people who meet me to discover that
I love running. I used to compete when I was in high school, and I enjoyed it
so much that I stuck with it and continued to run on my own after I graduated.
Though I still managed to stay in good shape, I learned that I very quickly
became a set type of runner- I was static.
What do I mean by this? Simply that I was a good runner, but
only at a specific pace on a specific incline during specific weather. I no
longer trained through the elements, and because of it my performance suffered.
I was great if every variable aligned perfectly! Though when I was met by
hills, wind, sand or speed, my legs would die so fast it was as if I hadn't run
a day in my life.
I couldn't understand it for some time, confused as to why
my body wouldn't perform when I was clearly exercising it regularly, but
finally I grasped it. How could I expect my running to remain constant through elements
in which I hadn't trained? It made sense that my body would want to collapse
going up a steep hill, because my muscles hadn't been prepared to overcome it.
Without the hills, the speed, or the weather, I wasn't really a runner- not a good one, anyway. I was someone who could run well at a
fixed pace on a flat surface, and would struggle to make it through even two
miles under any other circumstances. Though I was a runner at heart, my body
argued otherwise.
As a runner, some of my favorite verses in the bible are
those that relate faith to a race. They speak something special to me, and they
use a wonderful analogy to assist me in understanding how to live the Christian
life. It excites me to run regardless, but as I imagine running for Christ I am
thrilled.
I am able to interpret and relate to these verses the best,
but there has always been an aspect that I never quite got: the concept of
trials. I knew the bible clearly stated that we would always face troubles, but
I never really understood why. I get
that we’ll always encounter them, but why do we have to?
One morning I found my answer, quite appropriately timed,
during my run.
I had never realized that God uses our troubles to grow us,
mold us, and stretch us in a way that could never be done through a strictly pleasurable
life. I knew that God could use our pains for such, but it never before struck me that sometimes pain prepares us and trains us in a way that comfort and
contentment could not.
“For the kind of
sorrow God wants us to experience is one that leads us away from sin and
results in salvation.” -2 Corinthians 7:10a
God is one who wants us to grow. He wants us to plant our
roots deep and care for them attentively so we may prosper. I once read, “God
loves you exactly where you are, but He also loves you too much to leave you
there.” He loves us as we are, but that doesn't mean he doesn't desire us to
grow. He wants our faith to be strengthened. He wants us to flourish so we may
be a light for him amidst the trials and temptations of the world.
Just as runners must sometimes allow themselves to run
through the elements in order to grow in their strength, God sometimes allows
storms in our lives so we may grow in our faith.
The body of a runner is strong, but only as strong as the
trails that have been run. One who runs a flat course at a set pace will never
have the muscles to sprint, run a hill, withstand weather, or make any
adjustments to their performance when necessary. In the same way, though we may
be running in our faith every day, God must allow hills or rain in our lives to
strengthen our faith in a way we couldn't have otherwise.
Sometimes jogging in and of itself is a big enough challenge
for my morning. There are times when I expound almost all of my energy simply
putting one foot in front of the other; I think that is perfectly fine! Some
days I think it may even be necessary. However, at the end of the day this will
never make me a better runner. I will never increase my speed, stamina, or
endurance if I fix myself in a comfortable pace on simple terrain. I will only
improve when I push myself, and allow myself some challenges.
“Consider it pure joy,
my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you
know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4
Once we realize that some trials occur to produce in us the
quality of endurance that helps us become spiritually mature, we can truly
embrace them with joy and conquer them with confidence, all the while rejoicing
that we are becoming ever stronger.
“No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11
