Galatians 5:7 (NLT), “You were running the race so well, who has held you back from following the truth?”

You have probably heard the phrase “Run Your Race” used several times throughout your life. I like to use the analogy of a runner when explaining this phrase. As a runner you have to focus on the type of race you have trained to run. You can not get distracted by the other runners around you. You are to focus on running your race. So you start the race and you’re doing pretty well and just running your race at a good pace. But then you see another runner moving faster, or with a bigger stride, or running without seemingly expending much effort. You start to lose focus on running the race you trained for and now you’re paying more attention to these other runners. You want to be like them, you want to run like them, you want to run their race. So you try to stretch out your stride and you try to run faster but it’s not working for you, You are starting to stumble and fall and you’ve now completely forgotten about the race you were supposed to run. In the end you fail and never complete the race. Why is that? You were trying to run a race you weren’t built to run, a race you didn’t train for.

This analogy plays out daily in many of our lives. You feel a calling to do something in your life and decide to take the next step. You start out moving along quite contently in pursuing this dream, you are running your race. Then you see a family member or friend who is running a different race than yours and is having a lot of success at it. Inside you start to ask ourselves those questions. Why is that happening for them? Why wasn’t I given a chance to do that? Who are they to be so successful at what they are doing? You become so focused on their success that you start to diminish the success you’ve been having in the race you’re running. All of a sudden it becomes all about their race and their successes and not your own.

I have been that person before. I have seen family or friends having success in an area and outwardly I was happy for them. But inwardly I was asking those questions, jealous and envious of their success. And the problem with this is once those emotions start to come out then it clouds your judgment. You go from a period of praising God for what He has done for you to questioning God and what He is doing for them. This blocks you from receiving further blessing from God because your heart is not in the right place.

To run your own race in this world is tough because of the constant comparison that goes on. You are being told you deserve better, you should have more, if they can have it why can’t you. It’s a constant competition. To combat this type of thinking there are three things you have to do.

First, you have to kill the jealousy and envy when it rears it’s ugly head. These emotions are at the root many times of why you want to run someone else’s race. Proverbs 27:4 (NLT) says, “Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.” When these feelings arise within you call them out for what they are and then ask God’s forgiveness and healing from them. This is what I try to do every time I feel them coming up. I call it what it is and when I hear it I’m ashamed of it. Then I pray on it and ask God’s forgiveness for having those feelings.

Two, you have to thank God for the gifts and talents He’s blessed you with and understand why you have them. 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” You each have been blessed with gifts and talents placed inside you by God. He has set you up to run that particular race with those particular sets of gifts and the end result will be a blessing not only for you but for someone else.

Three, you have to know that you will win your race, if run properly. God has set each of us on a path that will bring glory to Him and allow Him to bless you as a child that He loves. You can’t look at someone else’s success and somehow feel what you are pursuing is not worthy. You see the end result but you don’t see the pain, preparation and sacrifices they’ve made to succeed. . Their success should give you encouragement while running your race. Remember 1 Corinthians 9:25 (NLT), “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”

Running your race in life is a difficult task. This task is made even more difficult if you are trying to run someone else’s race too. Today make a decision to run the race God has set for you, based on the gifts and talents He’s blessed you with. Enjoy the journey and rejoice in the others you meet running their own races. Watch God do amazing things for each of you, when you run your race!

Truth in Love! ~ Chuck