From Struggling to Soaring

I love running, so this verse greatly appeals to me. But growing up I low-key hated running. I was a bookworm and running was not on my list of things I enjoyed.

The reason I chose this verse is because it reminded of the days right as I was learning to love running. Whenever we’re learning anything there is the awkward in-between phase of continuing to do something that we’re continuing to be.. well, bad at. Let me explain how this all ties into Psalm 119:34 and hopefully encourage you.

Growing up, my parents were trying to help me find some kind of physical activity I’d enjoy. After several ideas were tossed out, tried and rejected, one day my dad told me he had to do a physical test for the Navy where he had to run a mile in a certain time. I was going to help him train.

At first it was all I could do to keep up.

Slowly, my stamina built up. When I could finally run a mile without feeling like I would die, I was shocked. After a few months I had gone from barely limping through a lap to running 3 miles. I was already amazed by the way God had created things, but the way he made the adaptability of the human body really blew my mind.

What does this all have to do with Psalm 119:34? Well let’s remember that David was, among other things, an athlete. He would have known the runner’s high. It’s a feeling of joy that sings “anything is possible.”

Of course, understanding even a small bit of God’s Word is more wonderful than any athletic feat. The concept of running in God’s ways reminds me of that feeling of freedom and excitement when I first began to be able to run freely.

The parallel can be drawn further. When we are first learning about Scripture and studying it, it feels overwhelming. We might even be tempted to give up after a few minutes. Here is a quick suggestion for all the newbies out there: just like I wouldn’t suggest a new runner tackle a 3 mile run uphill, I wouldn’t suggest starting in Leviticus or Revelation. Would it be amazing? Absolutely! But you will appreciate the experience more fully if you’re trained. If not, you might burn yourself out after a short while and think “this just isn’t for me.”

When I first became a real student of the Bible, I was blessed to have help. I had people to coach me through things and great books to learn from. As I have grown in my faith, I still need encouragement and teachers, but I can go for longer “runs” in the Bible by myself now. The James Method tools have been a large part of that as well. In fact, I’ve even gotten several other people to “run” along with me.

One of the many beauties of Scripture is that we’ll never reach its end. Because of this, we can always find new terrain to run in, because God will continuously “broaden our understanding” as we grow in our ability to pursue Christ.