“Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” Job 17:9
I’ve always been fascinated by the tremendous men and women that undergo Ironman ultra-triathlons. They start by swimming 2.4 miles, then bike for 112 miles, and then end with a nice scant run of 26.2 miles. And the training is much more intense than race day as these men and women openly invite in the suffering. They have a view of enduring pain that far surpasses what most consider normal. As muscle fatigue, mental anguish, and psychological obstacles mount, they surpass them all as they view their suffering from a different place. They somehow distance themselves from the pain. Yet for those of us that do not choose to voluntarily undertake an ultra-triathlon, it does not mean that this level of endurance will not be tested within us. Sure, maybe it will be in a different form, but endurance is something that will be tested greatly in all followers of Christ.
Job chapter 17 wraps up a mournful lament in which Job confesses to his friends, and us, that he never expects to leave the earthly dump in which his diseased situation has delivered him. He already feels death’s grip, the only thing yet to happen is the physical process of it claiming him. And folks, a dying man is known to utter the most honest words the world has ever witnessed. In what he considers his final discourse, Job speaks, of all things, endurance. He has been bombarded by his three visiting friends, all accusing him of sequestering some secret debaucherous sin that he needs to be confessed. They rally against him in the idea that all of his affliction is caused by self, that if he were to simply be honest with God and repent, all would be made right with the snap of God’s fingers. Yet, Job knows. He knows that there is no secret sin, and as a result he has no choice but to endure the suffering. And as he does, he is forced to view it from a very personal, lonely perspective. You see, suffering is only viewed in pure honesty when it is viewed from the eyes of the holder.
Today, you might feel that you are in the throes of a triathlon of struggle, anguish, and pain. That God has signed you up for a spiritual marathon that you are not capable of enduring. But recall Job’s words…hold your way with clean hands and you will grow stronger and stronger. And just where will this growing strength come from? Well, for those that have called on Jesus as their Savior, it will and can, only come from Him. You see, the process of the triathlon is not merely meant to harm, it is meant to push the body and mind over new horizons. To stretch the limits of the human spirit that has been imposed by the human mind. You see, God intends for us to not think like ourselves, but to think every day a little more like Christ. And to do that, we must not rely upon any other thing in this world, including ourselves. We must build our faith like the muscle it is until our great faith in Christ allows us to rest in His unlimited strength, not our own. And when you grow stronger and stronger in Christ, He will empower you to run the triathlons of life.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
Kommentare