“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, 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.” – Hebrews 12:1-3

Our son has recently taken up cross-country running at his school and it’s something that he has a natural talent for and thoroughly enjoys. He enjoys it so much that I recently overheard him giving our daughter a mini introductory lesson on how she too could become a cross-country runner. He began by explaining to her that she first needed to determine a pace that would work for her. He explained that to maintain her speed for the duration of the run she needed to choose a pace that wasn’t too fast or too slow. After giving her a few more pointers, he instructed her to follow his lead. As they started to run, with his coaching and her listening, she found her pace and finished their run strong.

As I reflected on this passage in Hebrews, I was reminded of this exchange between my two kiddos. If we are to successfully run our faith race, we must learn how to find the right pace. In a culture that tries to set the pace for us, if we’re not careful, we can easily fall into the trap of trying to keep up with the world’s timeline and schedule for our lives instead of God’s. That approach is a surefire recipe for burnout, stress, and an unfulfilling life. For us to find the right pace in life, just like our daughter followed our son’s lead, we have to fix our focus on Jesus Christ and follow His lead every step of the way. As the “founder and perfecter of our faith”, He lovingly guides us to find our pace of grace. One that’s not too fast or too slow, but allows us to maintain a consistent stride through the peaks and valleys of our journey. And just like long-distance running requires endurance, running this faith race oftentimes requires us to dig deep and persevere. As challenging as persevering can be at times, the really good news is that the One who endured the cross to save our lives, helps us to keep pressing forward so that we can live the lives that He’s called us to. As we keep our eyes on Him, He will help us keep the pace of grace that He has set for us so that we can cross the finish line in victory!