Have you ever read or heard something and thought wow that is really good, I need to remember that? But the more you thought about it, the more you wondered if it was actually off base. That experience is what brings about this writing. First let’s take a look at the quote in question. This is what I read while reading a devotional on the book of Jeremiah.  “In Tender Mercy for a Mother’s Soul, Angela Thomas reminds us to find someone to run beside. She writes, “Are you being held back in the pack of ‘slow runners’ when your soul longs to pull away from the herd and quicken the pace?” We need to fix our eyes on Christ and run toward Him with all of our might. Then, once we are at a steady pace, we can look to the right and the left and see what women in our lives are running beside us.”  Everyone needs a “Baruch running buddy” to finish the race.”

As someone who aspires to be a runner, this quote immediately struck a chord with me. For those of you that have run in any organized events, 5K, 10K, etc,, this will make sense to you. For those non-runners, it’s still a helpful analogy. There are some people who prefer to run alone, but for most of us we prefer running with a buddy. And while I admit there are times that I need to get out and hit the streets all alone, on race days I need and want that buddy running beside me. A running buddy makes it easier. They encourage us to keep going and we do the same for them. When one of you gets tired and wants to quit, the other one says “no we can do this, let’s push through, we got this”. I have run in several half marathons and I can honestly say there is no way I could have made it, without my running buddies (ladies, you know who you are!) pushing me along. But running is not the point, it’s simply an analogy to help us understand a biblical lesson.

Our spiritual journeys are like running in a race, and this race is a life long run. We were designed to run through this journey with others. Just like to author in the above quote is explaining. When you pick a running buddy, you want to pick someone who runs at a similar pace as you. Otherwise you might push too hard, and end up injuring yourself. Or slow down too much and fail to meet your full potential. As a runner, I completely get this. But the more I thought about the quote, the more I starting thinking I didn’t completely agree. Let me see if I can try and explain.

While I agree that we need people running beside us that are at a similar place spiritually, I think that is only part of it.  I can’t help but wonder if there aren’t times when we need to either push ourselves harder than what is comfortable to catch up with someone who is ahead of us and other times when we need to slow up a bit and allow others to catch us with us. When I look back at my life and my journey, it’s easy to see those times when there was someone ahead of me that I desperately wanted to catch up to. Not to get ahead, but simply because they had something I wanted for myself. Again going back to the running analogy – any run that I compete in, once I hit my pace I pick out “that person”. That simply means you pick out a person who is around you and decide that is the person that you are finishing the run with. They are usually a little ahead of you. During the race they may stay there or  at times fall a little behind you. But the goal is to keep them in sight. The same is true for our spiritual journey. There are a handful of ladies who have been and are ahead of me in their spiritual journeys and encouraged me to push myself to increase my pace and catch up with them. I believe we need those people in our lives, without them we might not grow. God puts those people ahead of us to help and encourage us towards more growth.

On the flip side, if those ladies wouldn’t have slowed up a bit and called me to catch up there is a chance I  would have stayed right where I was at a safe and comfortable pace. That means that sometimes we need to slow down to let others catch up with us as well. That doesn’t mean we stop growing, we can still see the lead runner. But we are aware enough to turn around to look to see who is behind us, and call back to them to catch up. This can be as simple as inviting them to do a study with us that might be easy for us, but harder for them. Something that will push them to increase their pace.

Regardless of where you in the race, we must always keep our eye on the lead runner, Jesus. Realizing that we are running a marathon, a long sometimes hard race. It takes a ton or training, daily work that builds up our strength and endurance. When you are running a marathon you need to drink plenty of water and have some type of nourishment (energy chews, protein snacks, etc.) In our spiritual journey that water and nourishment comes in the form of Bible reading and study, times of worship and reflection. Another important part of training for a marathon is one that is often overlooked and can seem unimportant, but it’s actually extremely important. Rest. Without rest our bodies don’t have the necessary time to recover which makes us more prone to injury. And it can actually harm our training progress. Rest is also important for us in our spiritual growth, without it we can become frustrated, discouraged and burned out.

So, let me leave you with a couple of scriptures and some questions to reflect and think about.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus,[a] the source and perfecter[b] of our faith. For the joy that lay before him,[c] he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Do you have a running buddy? If not, why? Maybe you need to, take a look around and find one? Is there someone ahead of you that you want to catch up with? Why not call out to them and ask them to help you? How about behind you, who is back there that you need to slow up and encourage to catch up?