- Train for the Race
But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of life. – Luke 21:34
Runners spend months, and sometimes years, training for races. Whether they are sprinting, running a 5K, a marathon, or a steeplechase, there is a great deal of hard work and training that they must do to prepare for race day. Without focused training, the consequences could be disastrous.
The Christian life has been compared to a big race (Hebrews 12:1). Every Bible passage, prayer, and act of worship helps prepare believers for something bigger that is coming – the return of Jesus to the Earth. In Luke 21, Jesus cautioned His followers to watch out for worldly cares that could prevent them from being ready when He returns. In the same way that a runner must be vigilant to eat healthy, get sufficient rest, and exercise their muscles regularly, Christians need to diligently prepare themselves for the life of faith.
The “finish line” is fast approaching for this world. Jesus has promised that He is coming back for His Bride, the Church (John 14:3). No one knows “the day or the hour” (Mark 13:32), which is why it is important to start preparing now. Would you live your life differently if you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow?
Live each day with the realization that Jesus may come back at any time. Watch. Be ready. Like the runner who trains with perseverance, invest your time in preparing for Jesus’ return. Ask Him to guide you in the path He has for you. Pray over the nation’s officials and legislators, that they would increasingly look to the Lord in their decisions.
Today’s Verse: Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; Hebrews 12:1-2
23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
