DAILY BYTEYesterday I posed the question, “Do you ever feel like you just want to give up?” While we may be reluctant to admit it, the truth is that many of us experience dark and desolate times when we feel totally exhausted and overwhelmed by the immensities of life that are thrust upon us. In those times, we need more than just the good advice not to give up.
Let me share a personal story that illustrates the point.
Back in February 2000 I ran my first ever marathon. I’d been training for a few months but I was still a complete novice and really didn’t have the first clue as to how one should go about running 42 km’s. I did everything wrong. On the morning of the marathon I had nothing to eat. On the run I only drank water and half of one cup of coke. And I proceeded to run the first 32 km’s without walking once, which is an important way to pace oneself. All of which meant that in the latter stages of the race I was running on empty.
And so it should come as no great surprise that with about 7 km’s to go, I suddenly, involuntarily came to a complete stop. Talk about hitting the proverbial wall – it happened for me quite spectacularly. My legs simply refused to take another step – they were staging a full-blown mutiny, and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember holding on to a street lamp to keep me upright, because I knew that if I sat down there was a good chance that I would never get up again. I also knew that I had absolutely no idea how I was ever going to get moving again, let alone reach the finish line. I was ready, in fact more than ready, to give up.
Some passing runners said to me, ‘Don’t give up!’ I know that they were trying to encourage me and be kind, but I wanted to punch them. Because when you’re in a place where your resources are completely depleted and you don’t know what to do, the last thing you need is some perky advice. You need real help.
Thankfully for me, help came along that morning in the most surprising way, as an old school mate of mine whom I hadn’t seen in 12 years came running by. I couldn’t believe it. He’d been on the same road running the same marathon with me all this time and I never knew it. And then it hit me. I realized that if I somehow managed to connect with him and stay with him he would get me home. So I shouted ‘Wait for me!’ And before I knew it I was moving again. I honestly have little recollection of those last 7 km’s. But what I do remember was the commitment I made that no matter what happened I would stick with my mate. Which I did – and we finished the race together.
That story is a kind of parable, which can help us to hear the good news of the gospel. Which is this:
When we feel like we just want to give up, there are traveling companions that join us along the way, that can strengthen, encourage and inspire us to carry on. In particular there are three such traveling companions, or groups of companions, that constantly share the road of life with every one of us. Over the next three days we will consider each of these in turn.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, thank you for the often surprising ways in which you come to me, offering your love and your life. Open my eyes that I may see you, and all that you have promised. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Hebrews 11:13-16
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
