We are in a race that it is long. It requires perseverance, being unaccountable, persistence, and a lot of effort. The apostle Paul encourages us to run our race in such a way to win “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). When we run to win, we do it because we trust Jesus, even when things do not make any sense, for one day, two days, one month, one year, five years but for the entire time we run our race. We will cross the finish line only with Jesus. We run to win when things are difficult, when things do not make any sense. We run to win when we continue trusting Jesus. We run to win by staying faithful to what God’s call us to do on this earth. Running to win has to do with trusting; believing, staying faithful day by day, staying faithful to what God call us to do. It is really all about our faith. We can not let the word be stolen before it gets into our hearts. You may think, “I can not take it any more” “I can’t finish this” but right there God is giving us everything we need to finish our race (see Hebrews 12: 1-4). When we read in the Bible the heroes of faith, all of them have trouble, hardship but they never gave up, they face discouraging times but they stay faithful, they all finished their race in faith. Those heroes encourage us to run our race as they run theirs. What can we do to run our race to win, First, to run the particular race that it is marked out for each of us to win, God wants us to run our own race; the particular race He mark out for each of us. There is not a place of greatest satisfaction and fulfillment that when we run our race. That can not be comparing with anything. We do not want to be like someone else, we just want to be us running the race God calls us to run. What is your race? Do you know what God’s call you to do? Ask him if you do not know, “He will tell you”. A lot us time people want us to run their race, but we need to identify our race. Sometimes people come to us excited to what God wants them to do and they tell us to be part of it, but don’t put that pressure on you, that you have to run their race with them. Sometimes, people tried to mark out for us the race they want us to run, in other word they tell you “this is what you have to be running” in order for you to get this or that if you do not do it like this you will not get any results. They are giving you their point of view (it is all about them, not one word of God on those advises), pay attention the way people talk to you and meditate if those word are parallel to the word or God, or if those ways are God’s way. Don’t fall into that. Second, we need to throw off everything that hinders everything heavy on us that keeps us from running and finished with Jesus. Could it be friends, habits, hobbies, guilt, condemnation, or bitterness? Paul said you have to leave those things and reach forward to what is ahead. It is not what we do, it is who you are under, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Forgiveness it is a choice, it is something that we do not want to do but you do it as an act of obedience. The scripture says that we have to throw off the sins that so easy entangled us. When the Holy Spirit brings to our attention the changes we have to make, we have to be willing and obedient to deal with that issue that is not letting us to run the way we should.  When God tell us that it is time to deal with something He will give us the wisdom, the people to help you on that particular situation. Maybe it is a motivation of our hearts, “you have the wrong motivation on doing things”  it does not matter what it is, God is always dealing with our hearts, not in guilt and condemnation but trying to get us higher to run our race better and faster to wing. It is our choice to do it or not. It is our choice to deal with that sin or not. God does not require perfection He wants us to make progress. Are we making progress? Are you working on those issues that the Holy Spirit “put to your attention? Or it is all about you. Third, fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the one we are running too and He is the one we are running for. We just want to please Him in every step we run “Because of the joy awaiting him” (Hebrews 12:2). When we keep our eyes in Jesus we take off our eyes from other people and we begin to understand how we really run the race to wing. When we keep our eyes on people we tented to please them instead to please God and we may compare with them. We begin to get confuse, and we begin to do thing the way people want. Fourth, we have to endure hardship but we have to keep running. Think all that Jesus endures? “…he endures the cross, disregarding its shame” (Hebrews 12:2). As we endure hardship there are to attitudes of faith “Every hardship that we face is temporary” “With God on my side I can do anything”. Fifth, do not get discourage, do not stay on discouragement, resist it. Keep up on running, persevere, even when it is painful, even when everything inside of you is telling you to stop just keep putting on one foot in front of the other foot because you have your eyes in Jesus. Have an attitude inside of you that quitting it is not an option.  You just need to keep running, whether you make mistakes or you have failures, weather your prayers are not answer. Don’t give up, just keep on going. Finishes like the apostle Paul, he said “I have finished my race, I have kept the faith”

Stay in your race, because God gave you everything you need.