Have the cares of this life worn away at your resolve to serve God? It's been more than 20 years since I was baptized and committed my life to God, and I often find myself struggling against the pull to let down and take it easy. The race has been long and, at times, very painful. And there is no end in sight. The finish line seems to be so very far off!

I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. I've seen many Christians fall by the wayside, victims of a subtle but destructive message: there is no race, God expects nothing from us and so it's OK to put down the armor of God and take a vacation from serving God. For the weary Christian, this message can be irresistibly attractive—and spiritually fatal. The broad and easy road leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

We are warned not to take the gift of God for granted. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation...?" (Hebrews 2:3).

A marathon runner keeps putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes slower, sometimes faster—knowing that the point of running the race is to get to the finish line. We must not drop out of the race, however tired we get. We have sources of nourishment along the way—prayer, Bible study and Christian fellowship. Don't neglect any of these resources.

We need to draw on God for the strength to go on. We need to keep refreshing our memory with God's Word, and we need the mutual encouragement of fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25). It is interesting that the surrounding verses, Hebrews 10:23 and verses 26-30, show that mutual encouragement is tied directly to our spiritual survival: Christians who isolate themselves can wither and die.

We need to be prodded forward by each other and we need to be lifted up by friendly hands when we fall. Your fellow servants need your words of encouragement and your helping hand to keep on running the race! You can study the Bible with a new sense of purpose: to be able to give encouragement to others!

Paul advises us to lay aside every weight, and run the race patiently—to run in a disciplined way—as one who wants to win the prize (Hebrews 12:1; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We have to get rid of whatever distracts us from serving God or loads us down so that we are hindered from moving forward.

"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed" (Hebrews 12:12-13).

Paul urges all of us to run the race to win: "Run in such a way that you may obtain" the prize—the crown of life (1 Corinthians 9:24).