Run The Right Race

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

“I can’t keep up, Lord. I feel like I am falling behind in everything,” I scribble in my journal. “Even reading my Bible feels like another area where I am failing to keep up.”

At the beginning of the year, I set out to read the entire Bible from start to finish. I’m woefully behind in my reading plan, inching along at a snail’s pace. My house is a disaster, and the laundry is never fully done, no matter how hard I try. Add to that the other responsibilities and relationships I’m struggling to keep up with—work, marriage, motherhood, cooking, friendship, and more—and the long list of unfinished business rivals the Pan-American Highway.

“My unrealistic expectations make me feel exhausted and frustrated, Lord. I just can’t keep up with this pace or finish this race I’m running. What am I to do?”

As the day progresses, I keep confessing the same words to the Lord: “I can’t keep up.” As I pray and ponder and plead for help, this question comes to mind: What race are you running? Deep down, I know the answer. I’m running a race for control over my life—and this is a race that can never be won.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” More often than not, we wear heavy weights around our necks—the weight of expectations, the weight of people-pleasing, the weight of perfection. These weights are not put on us by God. They do not make us more spiritual or holy; they only hold us back from walking in true gospel freedom.

When our eyes are fixed on what others are achieving or how much we can check off a to-do list, we enter a race we were never meant to run. But when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we run the race he has set before us, unhindered by the burden of extra baggage. This race is not about winning or competing against others; rather, it’s about glorifying God every step of the way as we follow his footsteps. The pressure to keep up is gone, because in Christ, we are set free from the need to prove our worth. We already have victory in the race that truly matters (see 1 Corinthians 15:57).

If you feel like you are falling behind and can’t keep up, remember: you cannot fall behind when you are following Jesus. Run the race set before you with your eyes glued on your Savior. As you do, the heavy weights you’ve been carrying will fall to the wayside, and the pressures you’ve been facing will narrow to one thing: pressing on toward Jesus.

Word before World You cannot fall behind when you are following Jesus.

Grow in Grace What weights have you been hauling around that Jesus never asked you to carry? Ask him to help you lay aside those weights so you can run the race before you in freedom, fullness, and joy.