Running... and relationship with God...

I've been struggling with my running lately. I have been struggling with a distance barrier. I've been struggling to run past 5 miles for the past couple of weeks.

But I think I've got it figured out.

I've been thinking about it for the past couple of weeks and I think that the reason that I've been struggling with my distance lately is that somehow I got the thought in my head that this training is going to be and supposed to be easy.

The reality is... training for a 1/2 marathon is hard.

It's supposed to be hard.

But lately when I head out to run, if I encounter any difficulty...

• It's too hot...
• It's too humid...
• I'm tired...
• It's too early...
• It's too late...
  
• My feet hurt...
• My ankles hurt...
• I'm low on time...
  
• I ran 4 1/2 miles (of my projected 6 miles)... that's enough...
• My shoes are new...
• My shoes are old...
• I got stung by a bee on my lip (which actually did happen)...
  

Then I quit.

I somehow got the idea in my head that every time I head out for a run that it's going to be both fun and easy. But in reality... It's hard. It's supposed to be hard. It's training. I should be expecting it to be hard.

Today, I went out with the idea that my 6 miles was supposed to be hard. So when it was, I was ready. And I kept going.


Kinda made me think about my relationship with God... while I was running...

I think sometimes we go into a relationship with God thinking that it's always going to be both easy and fun. We get back from a great week like camp, Summer in the Son, CIY or a mission trip and it was both fun and easy... everyone else was a Christian and we were given time to read our Bibles and worship and we were encouraged to do the things that we know we should do... and we think that the Christian life is going to be like that.

Suddenly life gets hard and our relationship with God runs smack into our life...

• Our friends aren't Christians...
• Our teachers give homework...
• Practice was hard...
• Practice was hot...
  
• Our friends want to hang out...
  
• We want to spend time on Facebook...
  
• We're tired...
• Worship didn't connect with us...
  
• The sermon didn't address what we're dealing with...
  
• We don't really connect with those in our small group...
• We don't like our youth minister or our youth leaders...
  

And we begin to struggle spiritually. Because we got the thought somewhere that the Christian life is going to be both easy and fun all the time.

The reality is that it's not. And no one said that it would be. If someone told you somewhere that the Christian life is both fun and easy all the time, they were lying... or they aren't really a Christian and therefore don't know what they're talking about. In fact, Paul said that the Christian life is a struggle.

"¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

The Christian life is not easy... and it's not supposed to be!

The next time that you are tempted to quit... give up... go with the flow... or skip out on God... Remember that no one said the Christian life would be easy. Keep pressing on!!!

Just a few thoughts from the journey... both running and relationship with God...

Jim