The Race is Not to the Swift

Nearly every day in the summer before eighth grade, I would lace up my running shoes, take a deep breath, and go out for a run under the sun. Sometimes I would see the sun rise. Sometimes I would watch it set. And sometimes I would feel its scorching rays during the heat of midday.

And I would always come back with aching legs and sweat-drenched hair.

But I didn’t mind. I had a vision for my eighth grade cross-country season—a vision of success.

So when I injured my hip flexors right before the final race that fall, I felt the sting of disappointment. And discouragement.

But nearly every day in the following winter, I would lace up my running shoes, take a deep breath, and go out for a run under the sun (or clouds). Sometimes I would see the sun rise. Sometimes I would watch it set. And sometimes I would feel the rain pour down on me during the stormy days.

And yet, in that spring, my health quickly failed me again. During that entire track season, I wondered what had happened to me. I felt like only a fractured reflection of the runner I had been that summer.

And I wondered where all my hard training had gone.

It wasn’t what I had visioned. And honestly, I wasn’t sure how to pick myself up after that failure.

So when I stumbled across this Bible verse, it gave me a reminder that so aptly resonated with me:

“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,. . . but time and chance happen to them all.”

~Ecclesiastes 9:11

In the NLT translation of this verse, it says that the “fastest runner doesn’t always win the race.” Even the fastest runners can fail when life’s circumstances take a wrong turn.

Life happens. Failure happens. It’s all a part of running life’s race under the sun. Under the sun, in a world that’s been broken by sin.

Our failures are a reminder of how weak we truly are. But they can also be a reminder of how strong God truly is.

Our failures are a reminder of how weak we truly are. But they can also be a reminder of how strong God truly is.

Because when God is able to take our failures and turn them into something beautiful, we are reminded of His strength. When God is able to take our broken hearts and make them whole, we are reminded of His strength.

And we are reminded of His love.

By the end of last spring, I wasn’t sure how to pick myself up after that difficult season. I had to give myself rest first.

But when I felt ready, I laced up my running shoes, took a deep breath, and went out for another run under the sun. Sometimes I would see the sun rise. Sometimes I would watch it set. And sometimes I would wonder why I even bothered running at all.

Sometimes, it all just felt so… pointless.

But I remembered that God has given me a passion for this sport. And He’s given me the ability.

And as long as I have that ability to run, I will thank God for it.

I got several injuries last fall, and I couldn’t run state qualifiers because I was sick and injured. Last fall had been my best running season yet. But it had also ended much like the others—with my health giving out, with life’s circumstances getting in the way.

But I’m able to look back and see how much I’ve grown since I first started running, and especially how much I’ve grown since last spring. I’m able to look back and thank God for the strength to keep going, and especially for the ability to run at my best.

Because by the end of last fall, I also realized something.

I realized that for as long as the sun keeps rising, I will keep on running. As long as I have breath in my lungs and strength in my legs, I will keep on running. I have a passion for running, and nothing can change that or take that away.

I have experienced enough bad races, enough failures, to realize that one more defeat will not be the end.

I have experienced enough failures to know that the sun will rise again.

And I have experienced enough failures to learn how much failure really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change who I am. It doesn’t change who you are.

We’re all broken sinners. We all need a Savior. And we all can find one in Christ. We can be His sons and daughters. We can place our identity in Him.

And nothing can change that or take that away.

When speaking of life’s race, it isn’t to the swift.

It’s to those who choose to keep the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). To those who choose to run after something more than what the world sees as success. To those who choose to believe that every broken part will somehow be made beautiful. 

To those who have faith that the sun will rise again.

And that’s because there’s so much more than what’s under the sun.

If you’re lost in the dark, I want you to keep going. The sun rise again for you, my reader. There’s so much more for you than what’s under the sun.

I’ll be sharing with you more about this in my next post, “There’s More Than What’s Under the Sun.”