“GET UP AND WIN THE RACE”
Running The Race
1 Corinthians 9:24-25
“24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
The race of life is a special journey. It’s a quest that has its ups and downs. I believe Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians refers to the effort, commitment, and dedication individuals have to make to “win the race!”
The daily decision to discipline your mind, your attitude, and your activities is crucial for achieving success. Pursuing your goals, dreams, and ambitions with purpose is challenging. The journey is filled with obstacles and struggles that can take a toll on your spirit. Overcoming these obstacles requires willpower, and if you don’t cultivate a mindset of belief, these challenges can lead to negative thoughts and actions.
I “navigate failure” every day! I am passionately committed to my purpose of helping vulnerable and exploited children rewrite their narratives. In the darkness of child trafficking and exploitation, you can find amazing stories of triumph and success. The young children who continue to persevere in the face of life’s hardships inspire and reignite my fighting spirit. I often feel like I haven’t accomplished enough. I have many days when it’s hard to continue the race. I find that my communication skills lack the charisma needed to inspire others to make a dedicated commitment to helping vulnerable children. On days like these, I often feel a sense of defeat and depression.
I don’t take delight in failure. I understand the importance of discipline and proper training. I believe individuals can run a race with great success and experience life-changing moments. The daily struggle of dealing with failure has to come with learned lessons and changed habits. It’s important to make ethical decisions in life and to cultivate accountability and trust. But there are those days when failure encompasses every inch of my brain. There are days when I want to quit and just succumb to the brutal reality of failure. But something resonates deep within my body, and I hear the voice: “Get up, don’t quit!” I love the poem “The Race,” attributed to Dr. D.H. “Dee” Groberg.
“The Race”
Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their parents watched from off the side, each cheering for their son,
and each boy hoped to show his folks that he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they flew, like chariots of fire,
to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, whose dad was in the crowd,
was running in the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field and crossed a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought he’d win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arms flew everyplace,
and midst the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
As he fell, his hope fell too; he couldn’t win it now.
Humiliated, he just wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished that he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”
But through the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face
with a steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”
So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last.
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight, then ten…
but trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently. A tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running anymore! Three strikes I’m out! Why try?
I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “you haven’t lost at all,
for all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
Get up!” the echo urged him on, “Get up and take your place!
You were not meant for failure here! Get up and win that race!”
So, up he rose to run once more, refusing to forfeit,
and he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran like he could win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered another boy who crossed the line and won first place,
head high and proud and happy — no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, in last place,
the crowd gave him a greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”
“And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”
And now when things seem dark and bleak and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race!”
The Apostle Paul is running with a specific purpose: to win the prize of life. That is why he says, “I discipline my body.” Winning the race of life requires setting aside earthly comfort to pursue heavenly reward, which requires faith and determination. The whole purpose of the race is much greater than the work we do or the possessions we accumulate. To invest in the lives of others is a great pursuit. But at the end of the day did we really sacrifice?
“For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. “I never made a sacrifice.” David Livingstone
Remember, you only get one chance to run the race, so run to win! Run with accountability and make ethical decisions. Invest your time and talent into other individuals with passion. Challenge others to keep running and inspire them not to quit. Make a resolve in the spirit of determination to navigate failure.
“GET UP AND WIN THAT RACE.”
Rich Binning is a researcher, investigator, and freelance writer based in Southeast Asia. He supports missionaries in spreading the message of Jesus Christ and works towards ending child trafficking and sexual exploitation. Rich is well-educated in Biblical Studies, Historical Studies, and Political Science, which equips him to comprehend the intricacies of cross-cultural missions and anti-trafficking efforts. He applies his research and investigative skills to offer effective solutions to complex issues.
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