My Soul Clings to you; Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8 (ESV)
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games, there was a certain British Olympic Athlete who was competing in the 400 meter semi-finals. He had impressed in the heats and the quarter finals and was pumped with determination to get to the finals. This was it, this was his moment! His name was Derek Redmond. When the gun fires he finds himself amongst the fastest out of the starting line and progressing towards first position. Then suddenly he feels a sharp pain in his thigh and started falling to the ground. He had torn his hamstring. As the other athletes passed him, he looks up knowing he will not make the finals.
Paul uses the analogy of a disciplined athlete running a race to describe running well on life’s journey for the sake and love of our perfect loving saviour Jesus until journey’s end at the finish line where we depart this life and claim our prize in the unveiled fulness of heavenly glory in face to face communion with Jesus.
Isn’t it obvious that all runners on the racetrack[s] keep on running to win, but only one receives the victor’s prize? Yet each one of you must run the race to be victorious.
1 Corinthians 9:24 (TPT)
This verse is all fine and good when we consider ourselves running our race well but what happens when we like Derek find ourselves hitting the dust on the racetrack and looking on with devastation as others continue running? When all may have been going so well and we were hitting our stride in the race that God had laid before us we instead find ourselves suddenly falling and heavily hitting the earth instead. Does that describe you? Maybe it was a burn out; loss of job; a midlife or financial crisis or perhaps an unforeseen battle with health; a broken relationship or a sinful habit. Whatever your experience of feeling the effects of a painful fall in your own journey as a lover and follower of Jesus, it can be easy for us to believe that we will never be able to get up again and that through our fall we are disqualified and can no longer run. We may also feel tempted to compare ourselves to others and feel resentful at those who are thriving in their race as we lie prostrate and in pain on the ground. Yet when we do this, we lose sight of our identity as the unique son or daughter of Father God that we still are and mistakenly measure our worthiness on our performance in competition with other peoples.
The heart wrenching collapses, tumbles, falls and failings in our lives do not disqualify us in the eyes of our saviour Jesus from whose love we are never ever separated and whose presence continues to be with us undiminished. We are never beyond the ever-present help and loving arms of Christ who remains a constant anchor of hope and lifter of our heads (Psalm 46:1; Psalm 3:3). For our worthiness was never based on our performance but on his perfect sinless obedience which led him to the cross for our sake that we might be qualified to run a race that he has already won for us.
Derek Redmond did not remain on the ground at the 400m semi-finals. Determined to finish the race, he struggled to get to his feet and waving away officials, he hobbled and limped towards the finish line crying out in agony from time to time because of the pain. As he stumbled forward a man ran through the crowd in the stands, jumped the barriers and barged past security to join Derek on the track. It was his dad! He said “I’m here son.” With his Dad’s arm around him in support, Derek and his dad finished the race together to the sound of the crowd giving a standing ovation. Derek was devastated not to have been able to run the race as he wanted, but he was able to finish it in his Dad’s arms.
Like Derek, a fall during our life’s race as followers of Jesus is not the end of the story. We have a Heavenly Father who is not a mere spectator but runs through the crowd to find us in our broken state with the reassuring words “I am here son”, “I am here daughter”, “you are not alone in this.” Will you take his hand outstretched towards you helping you to rise again and continue the race with his strong, loving arms under you supporting you? He will take you step by step at the pace he knows you can manage.
What does this say about Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 9:24 concerning running the race in such a way to win the prize? It is not therefore running a perfect race based on human striving nor being the fastest, most gifted or most famous runner in the kingdom. Rather it is as with Derek Redmond simply not giving up and throwing in the towel however painful it may be; it is the choice we make to humbly continue running the race our Father God has called us specifically to run, resting on his everlasting arms for support (Deuteronomy 33:27); it is remembering that His acceptance of us rests on Jesus the anointed one’s finished work at the cross and not on our performance (Galatians 5:1); it is refusing to believe the lie that we are disqualified and giving up on ourselves or on God when we have fallen (Romans 5:1). Finally, it is the delightful discipline of daily space that we set aside for intimate fellowship with our loving Heavenly Father that trains us and fuels our ability to persevere upheld firmly by His right hand (1 Corinthians 9:25). So today if you feel in that place in your life’s race where you have fallen or feel you cannot go on, let your Heavenly Father meet you where you are at and as the Good Shepherd that he is, allow him to pick you up again and support you however faltering your steps.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you as the loving gracious Father that you are, are always there when I fall. Thank you that even in my most harrowing painful stumbles in my life, I can cling to you as my constant support and your unfailing ever-present love and companionship. I am sorry when I have disqualified myself or believed myself to be disqualified by you or feel like giving up in the overwhelming circumstances I face. I want to ask you to lift me up and help me move forward and be the bearer of every burden that weighs me down and however small those steps help me to keep my eyes fixed on your loving gaze. For I ask this all in the precious name of Jesus, my loving saviour. Amen.
Abba's Dearly Beloved 