Hey guys,
Last Sunday, our running group got on the topic of how our desire to train, improve, and ultimately win plays in with what God desires for our growth and development. I came across this video and was amazed at Ryan's story of how God taught him about using his desire to compete. For those non-runners out there, Ryan Hall is a committed believer who is probably the best American-born marathoner our country has seen in about 30 years. He is one of the few white dudes in the world who is close to mixing it up with the East Africans at the marathon distance. This video shows him doing a 15 mile tempo run at 5:00 min pace at 7,000 feet in adverse conditions...not bad!
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That was awesome! To see someone run so smooth and so relaxed is just awesome. Clearly, Ryan Hall has been blessed, but he has also invested a ton of himself into running. To put this into Willard's terms, running is part of Ryan Hall's kingdom--it's what he has a genuine say over. The great thing about the clip is that Hall talks about giving this part of his life or kingdom back to God. For me, school is my kingdom because I also have a say about how much time I study (often times, too much). In fact, sometimes I hear God calling me, or telling me to spend quality time with Him or my wife Kara, but I struggle with giving up control over my kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI should be able to trust God to rule in my life, but instead I want control. I want good grades. My pride is afraid of being less than perfect.
It's an ongoing battle, but God is slowly changing me as I learn to trust him.
Good words, Jon. I liked how you made the connection of Hall's athletic talents being an important part of his "kingdom." Clearly God has taught him some dramatic and life-altering lessons about how he is going to percieve this kingdom, and ultimately have it merge into the, shall we say, "big "K" Kingdom."
ReplyDeleteThis book will afford plenty of reflection of what our kingdom's are, and how much (or little) we are intentionally trying to wed our kingdoms into His ultimate Kingdom purposes.
Thanks for the post, bruddah, bruddah! We all struggle with you in bring our kingdoms into His. Press on!
Wonderful video. Ryan is living the Christian life. In His Kingdom, every breath, every step, every thought while running is a gift from and a prayer to God.
ReplyDeleteHappily, I run too, though not as a young man capable of sub-5's for 15 miles! Yet, my every breath, step, and thought is from and to God. And, all my life, my work, and my play are from and for Him. I get to breathe in and breathe out, a listen and talk, pray and obey, and so on. All this has come to me as grace, much of which was spilled on me by good Christian friends who overflowed! You know who you are. I am thankful for His Kingdom NOW!
Great video. I can relate to a lot of what Ryan has to say. Being a competitive cyclist I have been in that same place of making cycling my god, (otherwise known as idolatry). But, this past fall Jesus, in His grace and mercy, captured my heart in a way that in my 33 years I have never experienced. I first time in my life that my passion and everything that I am are dedicated to pursuing Jesus. Through Him and only through Him can I be everything that He has intended for me to be since the dawn of time. Jesus has been pouring Himself into me as I come to Him daily. Jesus has been pouring the vision that He has for me and my family into my heart............Who Jesus is and the impact that He has had on me and the community of believers around me is awesome! As for competitive cycling; for a long time I wondered why God had shown me so much favor in this area of my life. A few weeks ago I really felt the Lord spoke to me about cycling and it's purpose in my life. The reason is to bring His Kingdom to the cycling community. By community I mean the people with whom I ride and race with. And I believe that is why God puts each and everyone of us in places like Ryan.........It's to bring glory to Him and bring Christ's kingdom not just to our lives but the lives of others.........
ReplyDeleteFebruary 28, 2009
ReplyDeleteStill don’t have my book (for some reason Amazon linked me with a vendor in the UK and I’m still waiting for it to arrive), but I’ve been following the blog and reading everyone’s thoughts. I’ll be playing catch-up for sure, but I think I’ve carved some time out during my lunch hour at work to read (finally finished the last book I was going through).
So… this post won’t have much to do with the book, but this video hit home for me in a different way and I wanted to share this story…
Sat down with my 2.5 year-old son Carsten to watch this video. As soon as the clean opening guitar riff of the music sounded, he exclaimed, “MIGHTY TO SAVE!” It’s awesome how there are no coincidences, not even small ones. He was just singing that song earlier today, and he requests it almost every time I play guitar when he is around.
That song has been very prominent in the soundtrack of our lives this past year. Our church in Alaska started playing it almost every Sunday last spring, and that was where we first heard it. At the time we were looking towards the end of my Army career and had no idea what was next. My hours at work were long at the time and the environment there was stressful.
“Savior, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save… author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave…”
We were certainly looking at some mountains ahead of us with no idea how they could be moved. I wept every time we sang this at church as I was reminded of God’s awesome power to save and sustain us. He CONQUERED THE GRAVE after all, how much more powerful than that can you get? Well, there’s creation I suppose, but you get the idea. But more awesome than that is that He has made me his child, I am bought by Jesus’ blood, and set free from the bondage of sin! He has taken care of everything!
Needless to say, that song has played in our house a lot, and Carsten knows it well. One of the greatest joys of watching him grow has been to see and hear him singing this song and others like it (he’s a big David Crowder fan), and then to pray that as he grows older, he will continue to sing it and truly praise God with it!
Father, I praise You for You are the Lord God Almighty – mighty to save us all! May we all experience your power and might in our lives as we read through this book, share our thoughts with each other, and walk humbly with You every day!
Great story, Bryan. It is stories like these that get me super pumped about becoming a father in a few months! It is incredible to conceive, and ultimately fully trust, that the power Jesus harnessed in his own life on earth is the same power that He seeks to work in our lives. This is no simple thing to believe and walk in. I give a strong AMEN to your prayer for us, Bryan. I'm so glad you are in on this conspiracy.
ReplyDeleteOne more thought on this video. Willard poses the question on pg. 12 "Can anyone now seriously believe that if people are only permitted or enabled to do what they want, they will then be happy or more disposed to do what is right?"
ReplyDeleteThis brings up the big issue of how we see freedom, which will feature prominently in this book. I can't help but think a lot about freedom in regards to running, and Ryan Hall points out that he is energized in his running and experiences freedom from anxiety as he freely worships God through running.
In the sense of training, if you look at it one way, Hall lacks freedom. This morning, while I was drinking my coffee and sitting on my butt in my warm apartment, Hall was probably cranking out some inconceiably grueling workout, perhaps in horrendous conditions.
However, in about a month, Hall will be free to be a front runner in the London Marathon and go toe to toe with the best in the world. I will not be, alas! (:
Bottom line: I am hopeful that each of our understanding of freedom in Christ would be transformed this year into a positive affirmation of the things God will empower us to do, rather than the freedom to do things the easy way, which is often the path of least resistance. Did that make any sense?
I wish I could say was training like that--both physically and spiritually. But the video and some of the comments above remind me of the time when I was training like mad to earn the starting wide receiver spot at Wheaton College (its D3 for anyone who might have otherwise been remotely impressed). Anyway at that time in my life I had certainly let physical training become my idol. And so one of the hardest lessons I've had to go through was when God took it away from me...I tore my ACL on the friggin' first day of practice my sophomore year and really have never been the same since.
ReplyDeleteBut through that lesson God taught me how important it is to keep my priorities in line. I was very tempted to let academics take the same place as I was studying like mad to get into medical school. But God convicted me and I made a commitment that I wasn't allowed to study until I had spent time in His Word that day. It sounds a bit silly maybe I think the Lord blessed it and helped me get through college, med school, and residency.
Anyway I wish I could say that I've "remembered" those lessons through the years... because certainly there are plenty of things that are not prioritized now. But, as always, its nice to share with all of you, my e-friends, and be reminded and challenged to do better.