Run To Win The Prize

A couple of months ago, I competed in a wheelchair race in Terengganu and throughout the whole run, my body was weak from days of lack of rest and proper nutrition. It was a time where I really needed God to help me if I wanted to win, 'cause there was no way I could achieve it with the big gap in distance some competitors had over me. God in turn replied with not just strength, but some lessons that He wanted me to take back from the race. Lessons that was more important than the prize or medal.

1. Do not give up before the race is over!

I immediately knew the moment I started the run that I wasn't at my best condition. This showed throughout the whole race as I was struggling to catch up with the two other competitors who was in front of me. No matter how hard I pushed and pushed, I just couldn't close the gap between us. Instead they were going further away. I wanted to save my energy till the final kilometre so that I could go all out, and so I maintained the 3 place position throughout the whole race. 

However, there were no markers on the road to show the distance we've covered, and before I realize it, I recognized the turning in to the finishing line which I passed by earlier in the morning. It was just about 150 meters away and I was still in third place position; in fact I was still quite far away from the 2nd place racer. I knew I was a little too late in giving my final push. However, I asked God for strength and with Philippians 4: 13 in mind, I gave my hardest sprint and overtook the 2nd position; though I was still very far away from the 1st racer and he was already in his final 10 metres.

Some part of me wanted to ease up and just "accept the result of my defeat". How on earth would I win anyway,right? At that very moment, I could sense as if God is telling me that it's not a race between me and the other racer, but a race against myself and my complacency. I needed to give my very, VERY BEST regardless of what happens. It's no longer about winning, but about FINISHING STRONG. Never give up before the race is over! The same goes with life. Don't throw in the towel at the face of challenges and hopelessness, but choose to finish it strong and triumphantly! 

2. Do not think victory is already certain before the race is over and stumble right in front of the finish line.

As I was giving my all to reach the finish line (still thinking that I will end up in 2nd place anyway), I noticed that the 1st place racer was slowing down and relaxing in his pace. The next thing that happened was truly unexpected. He thought that he had won and decided to stop 5 metres right in front of the finish line! I immediately caught up and almost overtook him but he soon noticed and managed to block me from overtaking him in the finishing lane. I ended up finishing just centimetres behind him as I couldn't overtake in the narrow lane.

The results came out and we checked out our timing to determine the winner. It was a TIE!! We actually tied with the same timing! The organizers didn't know how to handle the case and asked me to accept the result based on who crossed the finish line first, though our timing was EXACTLY the same. I decided to accept the decision and took 2nd place. 

At that time, I realized that if I were to give up and just go easy before the finish line and accept my "defeat" I would have never gotten a tie. I also realized that because he was confident that he was going to win, he wasn't fully alert of his surrounding, thus stumbling right in front of the finish line. In life, there will be time where we get over-confident that we are already "there" and because of that we sometimes stumble at the most crucial moment and thus risk losing the "prize". Always keep our heads levelled and our eyes focused on Jesus, not on our own abilities to "win". 

There was one more lesson that I took back from the race but I shall leave that to another post as to not make this one too long. Anyway, never give up before the race is over! You'll never know the full potential you have if you do not decide to finish strong. Also, when it seems that we are winning, always keep our heads levelled and keep running as hard as we can. Be sure to run as to win the prize, focus and look to Jesus because He IS our prize! There's so much we can draw from a race to application into our spiritual and daily lives. Praise God for His grace abounds all the time! 

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 3: 13-14)

Before the run started in the morning