Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hewbrews 12:1-3
Over the last year I have gained a new found love of running. Yes, I am one of those people that takes joy in torturing myself that way, and am running my second ½ marathon this weekend to prove it. I never thought I would actually get excited to wake up at 6am each Saturday morning (the one day of the week that I could actually sleep in) in order to put myself in physical pain but I have in fact turned into that crazy person. Actually, now that I think of it, I truly believe that this transformation to crazy I’ve undergone has completely been God’s doing and I was reminded of that today while listening to The Afters’ song “Won’t Give Up.”
I used to run randomly off and on without any real purpose or motivation, and well… I can’t say that I actually enjoyed it very much. But throughout the process of training for an actual race there has been something about that bigger goal ahead that really gets me going. This morning I was watching this behind the song video below from The Afters for their song “Won’t Give Up” and it really reminded me of this lesson that God has taught me over and over again through the discipline of running. We are all running a race with our lives that God has allowed us to be a part of, and it’s so important to press on through the hard times and bumps in the road for the sake of our bigger goal. Keeping our eyes on the true prize at the end of it all is key, and the verses from Hebrews 12 above are what I think of every time I want to quit and throw in the towel during a rough spot.
The song “Won’t Give Up” was actually inspired by the The Afters’ favorite sports team (The Dallas Cowboys) and was written about staying strong and fighting till the end- in the actual game, but also in the race we’re all running for The Lord. Check out what frontman Josh Havens has to say about the song in this behind the scenes video interview. I know I’ll be thinking about it this weekend 😉
When you’re down and out and you feel like you are not going to be able to get back up and finish. You need to have a rally cry. “Won’t Give Up” is kind of a rally cry to get back up, dust your shoes off and keep going on.
-Josh Havens, The Afters
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