And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
I haven’t written any running posts in a while because I haven’t run in a while. The truth is, I’m a sissy. I don’t run when it’s cold and I hate the treadmill, so I take the winters off. I guess that works toward my ultimate goal of still running when I’m seventy (twenty-four years to go!) but it means a slow start in the spring, rebuilding mileage and speed. My November 5K times are two or three minutes faster than my March times.
Last year, I had hopes of running a half marathon later in the season. That’s thirteen miles. Three times I made it to ten miles. Now ten miles is nothing to sneeze at, but when I couldn’t make my goal times for ten miles, I didn’t sign up for the half.
In four weeks, I’m running a 10 mile race. Even though it’s spring. Even though the weather has been terribly uncooperative so far. Even though I’m starting to transition from “I can do this,” to “What was I thinking?” Even though it’s the very thing I failed at last summer.
Runners are fond of saying, “Trust the training.” In other words, you trust that the little things you’ve been doing everyday have adequately prepared you for race day. My husband even said after a recent six-mile run, “If you can do six, you can do ten.” I’m not so sure. I know how I felt at the end of six. He assured me that the training would kick in, and that I’m better prepared than I realize.
As believers, God will often put things on our hearts– goals, hopes, dreams, ministries– things we don’t feel prepared for, maybe that we feel totally inadequate for. Because of that, more often than not, we close the door. The opportunity passes and we ignore the tug inside until it fades away.
But those situations are the very ones that showcase God’s power and not our own abilities. Not only that, we see what God has been building in us all along. It’s up to us to trust the training, and ultimately the Trainer when He says we can handle ten, even if we think six is really pushing it.
Is there something you’ve felt God nudging you toward? Is it time to trust the training and the Trainer?