The Best Coach
You are probably familiar with the old adage, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” I was a sprinter in my youth. I never won or lost a race at the starting line. How I started the race did often help in my quest to cross the finish line first, but ending well determined whether or not I won the race.
In the 100 meter dash, a good start is very important, but without proper running form, lightning fast speed, and a smooth finish, you will not win the race, unless your name is four time Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens or the now retired eight time gold medalist Usain Bolt, the current world record holder at 9.58 second, both of whom had a gear most others only wished they had.
On the other hand, the 400 meters is a brutal race. It is one lap around the track and involves speed, stamina, and tactical strategy. The last third of the race is the worst. Every ounce of energy is gone – your muscles are screaming to stop, your legs feel like rubber, your mouth is dry, your breathing is labored, your body wants to shut down. But the 400 is won by pushing through the pain and fatigue. The runner who has one extra drop of gas left in the tank often outruns the competition in the last few yards and crosses the finish line first.
While we do have to sprint from time to time, life is more like a marathon, pacing yourself for 26.2 miles, striving to maintain a steady and comfortable pace up and down the hills, slowing now and then for a drink of water and a suck on an orange slice, finally crossing the finish line with your tank empty.
I learned that my speed or endurance only got me so far on my own. I needed good coaching, along with commitment and hard work, to help me maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. Isn’t it true that so often we try to be both athlete and coach and we don’t look to those who can help us become the best we can be? I never really reached my full potential, due to recurring injuries but also because I didn’t always listen to the good coaching that I had at my disposal.
Committing your life to Jesus and following Him does not guarantee that you will win every single race – unemployment still happens, marriages still fail, cancer still shows up, sin still tempts you – but it does promise that you will always have a coach who can help you overcome a bad start, or a stumble in the middle of the race, so you can finish well.
God has given us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct our steps. When you invite Jesus into your heart you also get the Holy Spirit as part of that transaction: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
The apostle Paul regularly used running metaphors in his writings. Examples: Galatians 5:7, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 12:1-3, Philippians 3:12-14. These references point to agony leading to victory (no pain, no gain), self-control, discipline, purpose, attitude, forgetting, focus, reaching, all things needed not just to win in running, but also to live a successful life committed to Jesus.
So, regardless of your slow start (your past), or current messed up race strategy (your present), with the God the Father as the initiator of your faith, through Jesus as the implementer of that faith, and by the Holy Spirit as your faith energizer, your future is hopeful and you can finish the race well. If you’ve never asked Jesus into your heart, you can invite Him in right now. If you are already a Jesus follower but you feel the race slipping away, right now ask God to re-fill you with His Spirit, because we all leak and need to be refilled over and over again.
The Triune God is the best coach available to you and me. He really is! Are you committed to listening to, and following Him, as you run through life?
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