Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Ever experience a setback? Have you felt like you’re moving in the right direction only to experience a bump in the road?
What if this setback becomes an opportunity?
Several years ago, I was sidelined from my running routine. A freakish pain happened in my big toe during a Saturday morning training run that forced me to walk the last mile of the run and led to a couple of weeks on the sidelines, walking and riding my trainer.
This should’ve been no big deal. I was thankful it was nothing like a stress fracture. It was simply a little time off from running. How bad can that be? Well, ask any “runner,” and any day you’re told you can’t run is a bad day. For someone who has struggled with tying her self-worth to how much she’s running and working out, this was very difficult. Especially when the first question people always ask me when they see me is, “Did you run this morning?” Or when I see family it’s, “Are you still running? What big race do you have coming up?”
So then, what do you do when you have a setback or encounter a roadblock on your path to progress?
We often revert to old thoughts and habits. In this case, I found myself gravitating towards new weight loss schemes and quick fixes. I was fighting the urge to compare and let negative self-talk enter my mind.
Thankfully, I did fight that urge, and the Holy Spirit was able to show me how I was one step away from going backwards on my journey to freedom. When I start down that path, it only leads to destruction of all that God has done in my life. I must pause and remember I’m supposed to turn north (see Deuteronomy 2:3). I had to be thankful for what I had. I could still move every day. My training shifted to some heavy weight lifting and intervals on my trainer. I walked. I surrounded myself with a community of women for 40 Days of Faith and Fitness (my first devotional).
In the end, I realized this wasn’t actually a setback. It became an opportunity. It was an opportunity to live out Hebrews 12:1-2. I chose to throw off what was hindering me and run the race God had set before me. It was an opportunity for more growth in my spiritual life. I was able to notice where I still held onto comparison and made my identity more about being “a runner” than being a Christ-follower. Little did I know that this short time was preparing me for the longer time that I had to step away from running later that summer.
Do you feel like you’re facing a setback or a roadblock today? May I suggest that it could be an opportunity? Ask yourself, What’s the lesson I need to learn?
For me, I still needed to learn that my identity and my worth has nothing to do with what my physical body does or how it looks.
Then ask, What change do I need to make in my life?
I started learning more and more about exercise and its effects on me as I aged. This gave me some time to explore different ways to exercise.
Finally, I had to get even more specific and answer the question, Do I need to adjust my priorities?
In times like these, I’m reminded how “things,” whether they are activities or possessions, to-do lists, or relationships, can become idols in my life that take my focus off of the One who matters most.
Action Step
Do you feel like you’re slowing down? Perhaps, this is an opportunity to pause and throw off that which is hindering you to run your race well. Spend some time asking God to search your heart so that you can confidently ask, “What’s next?” and go forth with perseverance to run the race He’s marked out for you.
