Breaking the Ice!

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Have you ever had excruciating pain that made you drop to your knees and you didn’t know how to handle it? Sometimes the burdens of life can weigh us down and bring us to our knees. The pain that I am talking about is not always the physical pain that many may deal with everyday. Below the surface, everyone is dealing with a degree of pain in his or her soul. What is the solution to the pain and suffering in the world and where can we look to find healing?

This morning I was able to understand what it is like to go through a painful physical experience. I visited the prison where the Nashville Striders held a race for the inmates and free world people. The half marathon consisted of 38 laps around a 1/3 of a mile track. When the race began, the runners were excited about this new adventure. Some allowed adrenaline to carry them along until it ran out, and they had to walk for part of the race. Others kept a slow and steady pace to finish the race. After 10 to 15 laps, our bodies were beginning to warm up and calve muscles were feeling the pounding step by step. We had only completed a third of the race, and my body was telling me to stop and give up. Have you ever felt the pain inside yourself, in marriage, in parenting, or in the workplace and wanted to throw your hands up?

If you are honest with your heart, we have all felt this way in our lives. Everyone is dealing with life, and we are prone to look at the circumstances all around and want to give up and quit. As I thought about the pain while I was running, it seemed to pound like a throbbing headache. Then, I learned a few valuable lessons that I would like to share.

While focusing on myself, I was beginning to feel the pain was unbearable. I felt like I was the only one hurting until I raised my head and noticed that there were many all around who was struggling with the same issue. At the time, I didn’t need to hear that I had not trained enough, eaten healthy enough, or stretched enough, because that would not help my current situation. I needed good news right where I was. Being critical and complaining would hinder instead of help. I was thirsty and ready for my parched tongue to be quenched. Do you realize that many people that you walk by today are starving for a genuine relationship with God, but they do not know where to look? Our passage of scripture reminds us who we are to look to—Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. When the children of Israel found themselves bitten by the snakes in the wilderness (Numbers 21), they wanted God to take away the snakes but He gave them the remedy instead. While many were in pain and dying, God told Moses to make a brazen serpent and hold it high. All those who looked by faith lived.

Do you want to live today? Pain and suffering is something that we are going to have to deal with everyday, yet Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As we look to Jesus, we must remember that we can’t live our spiritual lives apart from His Body- the Church. While finishing the race, it was the encouragement of others from all backgrounds in life both in ethnicity and economic status that compelled me to finished strong. By being honest with the pain, the ice was broken which forged a fellowship that ended at the finish line with a warm embrace and job well done! Stay encouraged and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!