From Burned Out to BlessedIhe Atụ

Run (don’t sprint) your race

About a decade ago, I tried to qualify for the Boston Marathon. There was just one problem—I wasn’t qualified to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I hadn’t trained nearly enough, but for some odd reason, as I stood at the start line, I told myself, “I’m qualifying for Boston. Mike, just run!” So I found the pacesetter for my qualifying time, and when the gun fired, I ran with him for 16 miles! Not bad, huh?

Unless you remember that a marathon is 26.2 miles long! At mile 16, I crashed hard. I went from gazelle strides to a grandma after a double hip surgery. For the next 10 miles, I stumbled and cramped and cried my way home. What happened? I wasn’t honest about the way my body was created to work.

Are you? Psalm 139:13 reminds us that God “knit me together in my mother’s womb.” One of the specific ways that God knit you together, created and designed you, was for a sustainable pace, a balance of work and rest. He made your brain and your heart, and your blood vessels capable of tremendous work, but not too much.

Some people walk through life lazy and irresponsible. Others sprint like I did during that foolish race, proudly assuming that they won’t crash. A select few find a sustainable pace, pushing hard during unique seasons and taking guilt-free seasons of rest.

What kind of person are you? How might God be calling you to run (not walk, not sprint) the race of faith?