Running the RACE....a spiritual athlete

I can imagine them, the Ancient Christians, living in North Africa and the Middle East in the third century. As Paul Thigpen writes in an article from Discipleship Journal (sept./oct 2004) these men and women were "athletes of God." When I read the article years ago, I was intrigued and I have kept the magazine in a basket beside my bed ever since....What does it take to be a "spiritual athlete" in this day and age...I am already tired...another race to run sounds exhausting...but what I have come to learn that this type of discipline will help me "run the race marked out for me" (Heb. 12:1). It is not exhausting, it's exhilarating! It's not on piled on top of all of the other things on my "to do" list...these disciplines, when practiced, will help me "lay aside every weight....and let me run with perseverance the race that is set before me....discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time but it yields the fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained." (Heb. 12:1-2, 11-13)That is the goal...righteousness and a race well run when it is all said and done...sounds like I need some discipline!

If I am going to run this race, and run it well, then just as an athlete, I MUST seek to be trained by the Master...Just as an athlete has to decide how best to prepare for a particular event, I too, must seek to prepare my SOUL...Without disciplining my spiritual self, I am in no way ready to endure the race called life...
That requires honesty, a prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and a look at what area I need some "extra training" in...Paul Thigpen writes that "in ancient times the elder in the Christian community would have the brothers and sisters concentrate on one discipline for an entire year and IF they had mastered it by the year's end, they could move on to the next."

We live in such an "immediate gratification" society...we want results now and the thought of "discipline" and "long term commitments" can scare us...but we are in this
race for a lifetime, if we do not seek to evolve into better beings then we really are not running the race that Christ has laid before us....We only become better when we focus on that which needs the most work...for some it is in abstinence, others simplicity, some it's becoming disciplined in stillness, others prayer, and still others worship....at this season in my life, I am focusing on the discipline of meditation.

It's my training session with God...I am seeking a deeper, fuller, relationship with God...trying to understand HIS will and purpose in every area of my life...in a word, wisdom...If I am going to run this race for HIM then I need this discipline...not that there aren't other areas that I need to work on too, this is just the one that speaks to my heart at the moment...Paul told the Romans "not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may discern the will of God - what is good, acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

I NEED this training, especially at this time in my journey...raising a family, being a Godly wife, homeschooling, ministering to others...I will NOT effectively be a "disciple of Christ" without training in the discipline of meditation....If I don't focus on what God's will is, sit and listen for HIS voice, meditate on HIS word, then I will not be the "athlete" that God needs me to be....

This is as Thigpen calls it a discipline of fortitude, without spiritual food, I won't have the energy to compete for the Lord....and if I can't run this race for HIM, then what am I running it for...

Focusing on the discipline of meditation is not easy for an "engaged," "energized" spirit like mine, but just as an athlete continually trains, I must too...and meditation on the Word is the ONLY way for wisdom to be gained....how funny it is that the training I am in requires action of a different kind, no sneakers required here...it is quiet, still, and contemplative...in order to "run" well, I must first seek to "hear, discern and listen... and only then can I "practice." All in good time.......patience....

Consider then the disciplines that may be lacking in your life, or ones that may need a bit of intensive training to get back on the path...it's not always easy, discipline never is, but our heavenly "personal trainer" is always ready; ready to guide us in this race, wanting more than we can imagine, victory for us at the end of the race....the race HE has laid before us...."




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