As for what I’ve been told, organized drag boat racing started in the 1950’s at Hart Park in California, which means that the sport has only been around for fifty plus years. A relatively young activity compared to some athletic games.
Somewhere after eight hundred B.C., the city of Olympia hosted athletic contests that were central to the Greek culture and civilization. In fact, during these games, armies from rival cities would declare a truce so that everyone could participate. That may have been the beginning of true sportsmanship.
The Olympic Games were similar to the Isthmian Games, held near Corinth, which the apostle Paul powerfully and profoundly had in mind as a background for the verses in the first book he wrote to the Corinthians.
When contemplating our role as good stewards of our time and energy in terms of a race, it’s important to not only know how we run, but also why we run. “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
Everyone can be a winner in the eyes of the Lord as He will guide you straight down the track…if you’ll just let Him? But it’s different in drag racing, as there can only be one winner of a race or a championship.
Every competitor gives it everything he or she has to achieve that special status as the champion. Paul is not recommending selfish competitiveness, but rather he’s saying that we should give the Christian life that same special kind of effort and commitment.
In all aspects of life we should also follow Paul’s advice to the Philippians when he was speaking about pressing on toward the goal of winning the race of life. “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Athletes and racers don’t go out and compete without countless hours (and years) of sacrifice, training, and preparation. Your spiritual life should be evaluated on the same disciplines of preparation for the biggest drag race of the year.
Your spiritual preparation starts by attending chapel service, spending time in the Word, going to Bible studies, personal prayer time, serving the Lord in some capacity, and fellowship within the body of Christ. One “cannot do church as a hobby” and expect good results.
Driving to the racetrack with your trailer in tow doesn’t necessarily make you a racer or a champion? Running up the stairs at your house once a day doesn’t necessarily qualify you as a candidate for the next Olympic Games either?
If dedicated athletes and racers train extra hard to win a gold medal or a first place trophy, how much more should a Christian be willing to do for the real prize…a crown unlike the Olympic laurel wreaths, this crown “will never fade away?” This reward is more than just an eternal crown; it’s the ultimate prize…eternal life with Jesus Christ Himself.
Becoming involved in a physical training program can also help with your understanding of the spiritual principle of running in a race. Finding the time to train should remind us to stick with our devotional and prayer life, get up early and go to church, stay after chapel to assist with putting things away, and the importance of praying for your pastor or chaplain.
Unfortunately, many Christians try to live within the will of God while “opening the Bible only at church.” This practice is the same thing as if a “Little Leaguer” were to step out on a major league baseball field and expect to play without ever making an error. That’s “hobby horse…power.” At best, you’ll make a lap or two around the romper room at home.
If you skip doing any activity for several weeks or even for a few days, you can easily become out of practice, with clouded thinking and clumsy coordination. Spiritually, your attitude and behavior can also suffer the same way in a short span of time. Daily time with God keeps the believer from getting out of godly shape and into devilish shape.
Focusing yourself on Christ keeps Satan from managing the details of your life. That deep-rooted devil is an old school personal trainer who wants you out of shape, out of sorts, and out of spiritual contact with your personal meditation machine that keeps you focused, fixed and absorbed in the Father.
If you only train for a marathon race on a virtual reality machine; then expect to run twenty-six miles, you’ll never make it to the finish…as your legs and body will give out long before your head thinks you can make it.
It takes heart (not just your head) to be in it for the long haul. The information stored only in your brain won’t get you to the finish line. God’s playbook is written in and on the heart of His teammates. Being a successful believer is for the prepared players who perform to please the Prince of peace.
It takes a lot of horsepower to propel a twenty-five hundred pound Top Fuel Hydro thirteen hundred and twenty feet to the finish line at two hundred and fifty miles per hour. We serve a powerful God, and not one of us has any excuse for running any other type of fuel other than God’s brand of high octane spiritual energy that is ready to be released whenever God’s grace (and power) is needed in life.
That grace-full entitlement is needed in the morning as soon as you wake up requiring plenty of horsepower to make it through the day. That grace is needed when you open your Bible first thing and start off the day with the Lord. That grace is needed to face people all during the day. That grace is needed anytime a disruption decides to destroy your daily routine. That grace is needed to expand your own personal ministry.
Yes, I said your own personal ministry. As believers, we’re all obligated to pursue all that God has for us, putting His display of genuine horsepower to good godly use, gladly and gratefully.
C.S. Lewis said, “We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” God’s horsepower is there at the very instant of your salvation, which means the horsepower is in the tank, but, the humanness comes out in most people and they only run on a couple of cylinders instead of all eight. This is because many believers frequently act according to logic, whereas God wants us to act and live out our faith.
God calls you as a believer to fulfill your part of the kingdom through prayer, giving, worshipping, and living action on the racetrack of life. Your personal horsepower can’t do much while sitting on the sofa. But if you get out into the open spaces where the air is good and the barometric pressure is excellent for record breaking ministry times, you’ll fill the record books.
Unless we ground and drown ourselves in the water of the Word, we’ll tend to physically soften up and spiritually lighten up in our calling. A person fully submitted to Christ will make time to train, study, and worship the Creator. God’s will is meant to give clarity of purpose and power for a life of abundant blessing.
Don’t just trust God with the final destination; let His power propel you full throttle through the journey of life. If you can drive a drag boat…you can learn to carry God’s message of hope throughout your own part of the world.
The power of a peace-filled heart will become a reality when you embrace who you are in Christ. You are not at war with the competition at the races, but you are battling a spiritual competitor who has less power than you have residing within you, and has less time for you when you buy your fuel from the Savior’s salvation station. God created you to run strictly on His blend of high horsepower guidance from an omniscient Dealer who deals in only first class fuel…shipped directly from heaven and delivered right to your doorstep.
His power is freshly brewed and new every morning. It’s good to the last drop. It’s good for what ails you. It’s just right for your daily tune-up. It’s blended with complete confidence that will make your paths straight regardless of how crooked your run starts out.
“God, our God will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It’s up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this revelation” (Deuteronomy 29:29 MSG). Please promise to “Ponder and mediate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it” (Joshua 1:8 MSG). Remember, our Redeemer’s real horsepower rules!