Running While Injured

"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." ~ Hebrews 12:1

Last week I was talking with a dear friend of mine. She has been an active person her whole life and did something active every day. The past couple of years she has had some health issues that have forced her to rest and not be so mobile. To say that it's been hard for her is an understatement. She shared that Hebrews 12:1 is her life verse, and while she would rather literally run outside for exercise, she is having to learn to run and with perseverance in new ways. After our talk, I have been meditating on this verse, partially due to the fact that this verse holds a special place in my heart as it was one of the first verses I ever memorized, but also because I was and am inspired by my friend's desire to run in spite of her health. The past couple of weeks I've spent a lot of time reflecting on 2023, and in conjunction with this verse I had this stark, but not profound, realization:

It's hard to run when you're injured.

On the surface this seems like a no-brainer. I tried to get back into running a couple of weeks ago, but my left knee started hurting at half a kilometer. It wasn't the type of pain from muscles saying, "You haven't used us like this in a looong time!" but more from the joint saying, "If you keep this running thing up, you are going to cause serious damage to me." So what did I do? I stopped running and walked the rest. I've been reading Philip Yancey's Where Is God When It Hurts? in which he reminds us that God designed pain in our bodies to be a warning system--when something hurts, we need to pay attention. I have an injury somewhere in my knee and the pain alerted me not only to the injury's presence but also that the act of running could do more damage than good. Running for me has been hindered by this injury. 

It's hard to run when you're injured.

On a deeper level the truth of this statement is not so clear. We are wounded people and carry a lot of injuries with us. Some of those injuries were inflicted by us, some were inflicted by others, and some were inflicted by the world. With these types of wounds it can be hard to run the race God has marked out with us. It can be hard to run at all. We are hindered and entangled. We may try to run, but the injuries are deep and painful. For myself, the injury hindering me is grief. Some days I am ready to win it all for Jesus, but more often than not I am hobbling along hunched over wishing I was at home on the couch like so many others. 

It is hard to run when you're injured...

This verse is not without hope, though. The author does provide what I think are three ways we can run the race while injured even though it's hard. First, we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. Many athletes have related that they perform better in front of an audience. And we have one, a better one. These witnesses and mentioned in chapter 11 and are those who have run while injured. The witnesses are also those in our lives who walk alongside us cheering us on and holding us up when the injuries seem too great. We are not alone. Second, we are to run with perseverance. The goal in mind here is to reach the end of the race and not quit all together. With an injury, maybe that means slowing down, taking a new course, getting the equipment that you need to run without causing pain, or pausing the race to receive the healing that is needed. Perseverance is a rare form of strength and accommodating your injury so you are not disqualified from the race is ok. Finally, we need to throw off what hinders and entangles us so that we cannot run the race. Is the injury a result from sin that is distracting us from the race course? Is the injury exacerbated by a hindrance in our lives, such as an unhealthy habit or relationship? This may not be the case for every injury, but it is worth an examination. I am not writing these to be trite or invalidate anyone's experiences but to give myself, and perhaps you, hope that we can continue on, run this race, and run it well.

... and there is hope that we can run and run the race well despite an injury.

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