Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  Hebrews 12:1

I can race to arrive to work on time, then race to schmooze the boss hoping to out run a co-worker for a promotion.  I can race to buy the nicest clothes, have the best grades in school, look the prettiest, be the strongest, have the fastest car or the biggest house.  I can race to achieve good works in my church or race to have the most friends on Facebook.  Run.  Run, run.  Chasing after self is exhausting.  The peace I seek runs faster than human legs can churn.

Samson raced forward in life chasing things God never meant for him to waste so much effort on.  He didn’t realize that in his effort  to propel himself forward toward his next pleasurable experience, he was actually slipping further and further down the slippery slope of self-destruction.

The fastest way to win the race is to  give up self and pursue God.  The race to pursue God requires me to give up all my other races and concentrate on keeping pace with my Trainer who leads the way.  Once I admit I can’t win the race on my own, God is faster than a speeding bullet in His arrival to give me the power and strength I need to finish the race and receive the prize.