Don't Get Tired Now!

Jeremiah 12:5 If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

Looking from the outside in it always looks easy to accomplish what other people have worked hard for. People may never say it but they are thinking, "I can do that!" People see your Glory but they couldn't live your story. The race you are running is the race you were "graced' to run. God gave you the unique ability to run the race that you are running.

Jesse Owens will always be remembered for defeating Adolph Hitler's philosophy of Aryan racial superiority by winning four gold medals at the 1935 Olympics in Berlin. He also raced a horse and won in Cuba but his greatest feat was a year before the Olympics in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the Big Ten Conference when he tied the World Record in the 100 yard dash at 9.4 seconds and broke the world records for the broad jump, 220 yard dash and the 200 yard low hurdles.

The astounding thing about these records was that they were set after Owens had fallen down a flight of stairs and was suffering from back pain and they were accomplished in a span of about 70 minutes. Had Jesse Owens quit after his fall, he never would have defeated the Germans, he never would have raced a horse and won. If you stumble in the open country and give up, how will you compete on the World's stage?

Don't get tired now...

1. Train hard while the cameras are not on you. If you are going to fall it's better to fall at the beginning than to fall at the top. Whatever you do train hard so you can run hard when the camera is on you.

2. If you fall down get back up. Sometimes, we have to run through our pain with a greater goal in mind. Forget those things which are behind you and press toward your goal.

3. Run beyond the expectations of others. Jesse Owens could have bought into the racist ideology of the Germans but instead he knew who he was and he had trained for this. He ran so fast he beat everybody.

4. Win at foot races before you try to beat horses. Jesse won in Ann Arbor after falling down the steps, he won in Germany against all odds, and just for fun he beat a race horse. Run your foot race before you try to show out for fun.

Dear God, give me the resilience to get up and run after I fall. Give me the courage to run in the face of hatred and evil. Give me the stamina to finish strong, for I know the race is not given to the swift nor to the strong but to those who endure to the end.

In Jesus Name,

Amen