Faith Starter PackSample

Run the race

Well done on reaching the last day of the DTI faith starter pack!

I don’t know about you, but I find running really hard. It starts out fine when I am full of energy and ready to race, but when I hit a slump or reach a hill, it’s difficult to keep going. Living for Jesus can be like that. When the going gets tough, it’s easy just to stop and give up.

But being a Christian isn’t about how fast you run; just that you keep going - it’s a marathon, not a sprint. A marathon isn’t always dramatic and exciting (if anything, it can be quite boring!), it’s faithfully putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that God is there alongside you.

Praying and reading the Bible can sometimes feel exciting, but at times they can feel more like that long marathon. On a run, you can be on top of a hill with a lovely view, and it’s really exciting, but at times it can feel like you’re running through a tunnel with no end in sight.

When running for Jesus gets tough, we need to remind ourselves that we have the Holy Spirit (which we talked about yesterday), and He also gives us what the bible calls the full armour of God to help us along the way.

Have any of you seen cycling at the Olympics? They cycle on this weird wavy track, but that’s not even the weirdest thing. What is really strange are the helmets they use. They look like normal bike helmets stretched out wayyy too far! However, they do this to reduce the air resistance, which helps make them cycle more easily.

Just like the cyclist putting on the helmet before the race, we too need to put on God's full armor so we can run the race for Jesus.

Q: Who could you encourage to keep running their race for Jesus?