In 1983, a sixty-one-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young showed up for a grueling, weeklong ultramarathon from Sydney to Melbourne—in overalls and work boots. He shuffled off the starting line as the much younger and athletic runners sprinted ahead. Soon he was miles behind. Spectators feared for his health. But that night, as the other runners slept, Cliff took a quick nap and kept going. Five days and five nights later he came in first—ten hours ahead of his closest competitor!
The apostle Paul also wasn’t the most orthodox champion. He wasn’t the best speaker and he sometimes lacked the gracious spirit expected from a church leader (Acts 15:37-40; Galatians 2:11). He confessed he was the worst of sinners and suffered from a humbling “thorn in [his] flesh” (1 Timothy 1:15; 2 Corinthians 12:7). His enemies added to his struggles, beating him with whips and stones (2 Corinthians 11:25).
But Paul chose to boast in his weakness “so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Do you sometimes wonder if you’re falling behind in the race of life? Do you feel unappreciated, even scorned for living for Jesus? Do some people scoff at your commitment to Him?
Continue to winsomely show love to the spectators—the ones who are watching you. Remember the steady pace of Cliff Young and the apostle Paul as you run your race. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so “let us run with endurance the race God has set before us . . . keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 9:28-45
More:
Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 to learn how we are to run the race God has called us to run.
Next:
Where do you feel like giving up? What do you need to believe, hope for, and love in order to stay in the race?
Gary Shultz on July 23, 2017 at 6:44 am
Well, Mike: It’s not usually a blow out that side lines me, it’s the slow bleed. Things that are out of my comfort zone. These kids today drive me crazy, somebody else can help there, I’m tired, and not very smart. And hey, these younger people should be stepping up more. We like to think there is, but there is no listed retirement from service to our Lord, at any age. And what I need to stay in the race is a fresh vision, mandate, revelation from God’s word and Spirit. We see the saints of old, who like your 61 year old farmer, carried on until they were called home. Another lesson it showed us is, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. To finish well the life God has planned for us will take pointed determination, a reliance on our God, and sacrifice. If we can’t do that, we may want to figure out how we will explain to God, with all that we have been bless with, why we couldn’t participate. Thanks Mike
Regina Franklin on July 23, 2017 at 8:50 am
Gary, praying the Lord will show you how needed you are, regardless of whether or not they see it. May the Lord being Timothy’s to you, for the kingdom of God isn’t a baton passed to the next generation. It is an intergenerational body Christ living in community.
Regina Franklin on July 23, 2017 at 8:51 am
They being others but especially a younger generation
Regina Franklin on July 23, 2017 at 8:46 am
Good word, Mike. It reminds me both to remember the race I am running and that the timeframe isn’t set by this world.
Mike Wittmer on July 23, 2017 at 2:09 pm
I like that, Regina. I don’t need to run anyone else’s race. Only the one the lord has for me. I can’t run fast but I can shuffle!