I have always gotten nervous before singing, playing sports, or speaking in front of people. Running is no different. I get extremely nervous before each race I run. Someone once told me that nerves can be a good thing because you begin to rely on God for what you are about to do. I was talking to a fellow teammate yesterday and telling him how nervous I am about my race on Saturday. He asked me why and my response was that I didn't want to disappoint my teammates and especially not my coach. As the walk on of the team, I constantly feel pressure to prove myself to people. As soon as this response came out of my mouth, I remembered something very important: I don't run for people, I don't run for myself, I don't run to show off. I run for one reason: to glorify the One who gave me the ability to run. Even if I finish last in a race, if God is glorified by my running, then I have succeeded.
It is so easy to lose sight of this fact when I am improving because I start to rely on my own strength and give myself credit. I must continually remind myself that God is the one moving my legs and giving me breath. He is the only reason I am where I am as a runner. My strength comes from him.
I consider myself weak compared to the other girls on my team, but this is a good thing because God's power is made perfect in my weakness. Like Paul, I delight in my weakness as a runner so that Christ's power may rest on me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
1 comment:
Hey girl! I'm sorry this is the first time I have posted. Our internet is a bit screwy.. So, anyway, I love this post. It encourages me a lot. You are so blessed that you have a gift such as this and you are using it to glorify God. I think that is awesome and so different from what I have heard from other runners. I get nervous too when I speak in front of people. Whatever I'm nervous about, it never gets any easier, but you're right. It makes you rely on God and not yourself to complete the task. Love you Loren! :)
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