The Race Marked Out

I love my morning exercise walk.  It refreshes me physically, mentally and spiritually.  It’s when I walk that I get thoughts to post on the blog.  And it’s my major prayer time.  I’m free from most all distractions: phone, drop in company, computer, work I need to do around the house and falling asleep during my prayer time.   

Since October, I’ve been prevented from walking and have had to use our exercise bike.  I hate it.  I dread it.  It’s boring, tedious and my house is all around me screaming for attention; the same with the phone and drop in company.  But it’s all I have so I need to take advantage of it.   However, I’m not as faithful with it and my body is definitely showing the signs of neglect. 

This morning was the day to start back.  I have one setting that I like.  It has six settings and I’ve tried a few others but I always go back to the one.  Today, I decided to try a new one.  The picture of it and what actually popped up wasn’t exactly accurate.  I’ve included the picture.  The setting had no middle ground, no acclimation.  It’s easy, hard, easy, hard, hard, hard, easy, hard, hard, very hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, easy, easy.  Right away, I wanted to stop and try another or just get mad, excuse myself with self-pity, and walk off.  It was the long series of “hard” that frustrated me.  I dreaded it more than usual.  I didn’t want it to be hard that long without an “easy”.  It was eight tough ones in a row.  How could I get through it when I hadn’t done it in so long?  As I sat there dreading it with desire for flight (quitting! which I’ve done more than once) I thought how the setting was much like the Christian life.  I decided to persevere with that thought in mind.

It made me glad that we don’t see the big picture of life.  Hebrews 12:1 says to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.   There is a walk that is “marked out” just for us.  There will be tough times or the writer wouldn’t have told us to “run with perseverance”.  But even if we were to know or see ahead, as believers we would have to say, “Lord, to whom should we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  John 6:68  But even in the midst of tough perseverance, God has given us privilege of prayer, of asking for strength to persevere, and He has given us the Holy Spirit as our Comforter to get us through the tough times.

I made it through the bike session.  It was hard and I hated it but I finished.  I did find out what a big baby I am.  But I’ll work on that another day!