On Sunday I went on a run in the afternoon. It was nice out, but very windy. The first half of my run was into the wind. It was hard going, I couldn’t hear the music from my iPod and I felt like I was working twice as hard. As I was running I felt like God wanted me to turn off the music. As I continued it hit me that running into the wind is hard and it is difficult to hear anything, even when I turned off the music.
That is a lot like our lives isn’t it? We are running into the wind, working extra hard and not making good progress. The wind can be the struggles of life, sin, bad habits, past hurts, bad relationships and nasty people. When we are running into the wind it is hard to hear from God, because the wind is so loud in our ears.
God tells us to simply turn around and run with the wind. He calls it to repent or turn around. When the wind is at your back you can run much faster and smoother. You can also hear much better and be more aware of your surroundings.
So if you feel like you are constantly running into the wind, maybe you need to turn around and go the other way. Maybe you need to stop doing some of the things you are doing. Maybe you need to do some things differently. Maybe you need to get some help. Maybe you need to simplify your life.
The other lesson I learned on that run was that when your running in the heat of the day, the shade is very comforting. When you are in a lot of heat God brings us small amounts and times of shade to keep us going. Sometimes we need to seek out the shade and slow down to rejuvenate. Maybe you need to go find some shade and rest for a bit. Maybe you need to look for those brief times of shade during the day, those times you can spend with God. When we plug into Him, He gives us strength to finish the race.
Do you have a headwind or a tailwind in your life? Do you have enough shade? Is the wind so loud you never hear God’s voice? Do you need to turn the music off?