Yes, there will be challenges to your faith; there will be times when you will be tempted to give up your faith and quit being a believer. But what great glory it will bring to God if you keep running the race with the aim of winning! And what a great reward will await you at the finish line, as you finish focusing unto Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We know from the Word of God that God will meet our needs if we go to Him and ask Him in faith. Yet in this world, we face circumstances that can cause us to stumble in our faith. There are many problems in the world today that may make us lose the faith we have in God; the poor economy, unemployment situation, world wars, threat of terrorism, and the daily life and family issues we face; such as; divorce, infidelity, luck of finances, illnesses, and death of a loved one, among others can cause us to quit the race. But it is in these difficult times that we must aim at finishing the race of faith we first began.
During such times of difficulties, is the time for us to believe God and trust in His Word more than ever before. The Bible says in First Timothy 6:12 that we are to fight the good fight of faith. These are the times when we must stand our ground and not quit—even if it looks like we’re going downhill with no hope of return. Don’t quit! God will cause us to be victorious if we will believe His Word and not give up.
It’s one thing if you quit a race in the natural. But when we embark upon this spiritual race and we quit in the middle of it, the consequences can be extremely sobering; whether or not we stay in the race could mean life or death.
So stay in the race of faith. Yes, you may fall once or twice, or grow weak and weary in the race of faith. The devil may take you by surprise, but just because you encounter these obstacles, doesn’t mean you quite the whole race. You may come away from that race with a swollen leg and or a sweaty nose, until you learn how to stand on the Word for your victory. But just because the devil gets in a couple of good licks—maybe a right cross and a left hook, and you may be staggering a little or bouncing off the lanes, that doesn’t mean he’s won the race ahead of you.