A few weeks back I posted about a fitness journey I am on. I am working out to run a 5K here in my area to benefit Special Olympics. I intended to post more about this journey but to be really honest the training stopped for a while. The day after I posted for the first time, I completed the full 3.1 mile distance non-stop for the first time in years. It was a great day. The next day I went out, finished my warm up walk ran three steps and an excruciating pain shot up my leg. It was a pulled muscle and I couldn’t get out for over a week.
Then I took my son to an amusement park and came home to find my ankle had swelled quite large. The doctor told me to sit another week. I’ve been running again, but today was the first time when I covered the whole distance again running most of it except when my pollen allergies made me have to stop for a few steps here and there. Over all it was a pretty good day. And I learned something that I think will help on this journey through life.
My route has several difficult hills including two that are the better part of a half mile. I was about half way up the first one when my body started to rebel. My body was telling my mind it was time to stop and my mind knew that was a bad idea. Now in the past I would always ask God to help me make it up the hill. Today I tried something different, I asked God to help me to think about something else. It worked and I made it all the way up. Why did it work? Well beside God’s help which is no doubt the biggest factor, it changed my thinking and my focus. I started to think about something else which distracted my body from the pain it was in. By turning my sights to the goal I got another step closer.
Let’s apply this to life. The hardest time in any journey is in the middle of the struggle. All you can focus on is the pain and the struggle and that makes things really hard. You start to forget your goal and all your thoughts turn to getting out of your current situation. You need to change your thinking. The way to the goal goes through the pain. Succumb to the pain and you don’t reach your goal. The way out is through. I think that’s why the Bible reminds us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
To reach your goal change your thinking. Think on the things of God. The way out is through!
Where are you about to quit and how can you make it through?
