You may remember this post. Here’s its sequel.
The next lesson I learned from running is pace. Life is like this. If you place everything in the urgent category and “run around like crazy,” you will soon be worn out. When you pace yourself, you save energy and strength for later. If you realize you have strength left, you can always sprint to the end, but if you sprint from the beginning, you are assuring yourself there will be nothing left at the end.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… Hebrews 12:1
This verse speaks of running with endurance. Endurance is developed and learned. We can do the same thing with life, but how?
God has created a rest cycle in all of creation. Every living creature has some form of rest cycle. First, we rest every 24 hours, then we rest weekly and seasonally. Endurance runners understand the purpose of rest leading up to a race as well as rest while training for an event. You can’t run hard every day; you need to give your body a chance to rebuild and repair.
If you do not apply this principle to life, you will pay for it. It is proven in study after study that getting less than 7-8 hours of sleep per night causes or is linked to many health issues as diverse as obesity to Alzheimer’s and cancer. Yet I refuse to stop and rest. I must get this or that done. Weekly rest is also important to our bodies and our souls. It is a form of worship to stop work and let God run the universe.
Do you want more information on these thoughts?
Read the following books: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and The Resilient Life by Gordon MacDonald
-Tony High