Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Philippians 2:16 ESV
We begin slowly, taking one step at a time. Then, we start to accelerate. Faster and faster. We congratulate ourselves on the mileage that has grown with every step. The electronic dashboard records the distance we have run.
When the running stops and the treadmill belt completes its final revolution, we will find ourselves standing precisely where we were standing when we began.
No amount of speed, incline, or extra effort changes our location. We stop where we started.
Calories will be burned, and energy will be expended. There may be sweat, aching muscles, or even complete exhaustion, but that doesn’t change the fact we have remained in the same spot.
The scenery has not changed.
No forward advancement has taken place.
There have been no chance encounters on your journey.
You are running alone.
Friend, you will never reach a new destination if you run in place. No matter the intensity of your effort, the aggressiveness of your goals, or the sincerity of your good intentions, you will still be standing exactly where you began when the treadmill stops moving.
If we do not exercise caution, we can find ourselves on a “Christian Treadmill.” We step on the endless looping belt—the unending cycle of doing, doing, doing, forgetting that our race’s paramount achievement is being and becoming.
It does not matter how selfless our actions may be or how willing our service is; if we are not running the race to which we have been called, we will eventually realize that we have been running in place. We are exactly where we started months, even years ago. We have not moved forward.
We should ask ourselves: How can I be sure I am running the race that God has assigned me and I’m not unknowingly stuck on a Christian Treadmill going nowhere fast and furiously?
In Psalms 119, the psalmist addresses this question by providing guidelines for a well-run race.
Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
Psalm 119:29-32 ESV
- “Put false ways far from me.” – Search out, confess, and turn away from sins, habits, relationships, and anything in your life that weighs you down or holds you back spiritually.
- “Graciously teach me Your law.” – Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart and mind to the truth of God’s Word.
- “I have chosen the way of faithfulness.” – Choose to be faithful to God and His Word. We always have a choice.
- “I set Your rules before me. I cling to Your testimonies.” Stay in the Word. Be diligent. Never stop learning or growing in your knowledge of God. Remember and hold fast to the unfailing promises of God.
- “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” As you run your race with faith and obedience, God will continue to expand your capacity to know Him better, to become more steadfast in your faith, and to see your path more clearly.
The Apostle Paul encourages us as he challenges us to run “for the prize” with intention and purpose.
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. …So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
1 Corinthians 9:24, 26 ESV
The author of Hebrews further challenges us to throw off anything that weighs us down or slows our progress as we run the race that God has given each of us. He says we will endure to the end if we keep our eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
So, friend, I ask you to look around. Has your “scenery” remained unchanged? Is there a measurable distance between your spiritual state when you “started running” and today? Do you feel like you are running alone? Is it possible you have been running on a spiritual treadmill—getting nowhere fast?
Is it time to get off the Christian Treadmill and into the race to which you have been called?
If you are faithfully running the race you have been given, praise God, and keep running for the prize of your high calling.
They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 ESV