Practice

JOHN HORSLEY

Exercise is vitally important to keep a dog healthy and happy. At home, we just let the dogs out and they run and play to their heart's desire. However, for the last week, we've been living in town, helping out our uncle. The dogs are confined either to the house or on a long leash outside. I have been taking them on walks around the neighborhood three times a day to get  exercise. 

This morning, a verse in Hebrews came to mind as we were walking. "Run your race." I know from past experiences that you just don’t run a race, it takes exercise and practice to be able to finish and compete. So I asked God, "How should I exercise to run my spiritual race and finish well?" 

My initial thought was, "that's an easy one: read and study God’s word and pray." But then, I was convicted--it's not that easy.

Exercise is the practice done to get in shape to perform. This happens spiritually in applying I read, study, and pray. Running my race is real life application of God’s word. After I read, then I must learn the lessons taught in what I read, and then I have to live it out--with real people in real places. That is not easy. It takes a lot of practice. It's like walking the dogs. Every. Day.

Where are you in your spiritual race? Just starting out, learning it is not easy to run? Are your spiritual muscles getting sore? Are you gasping for air because your spiritual lungs are tired and hurting?  

Don’t get discouraged. The more you run, the easier it will be. Allow yourself the time to get in good shape. Then run the race God is preparing you for: "Therefore, 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, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2)