ONE DAY, MY husband and I took up racquetball…

Knowing I needed the exercise, I also ventured into the little box that was the court.  It seemed a trifle small for the two of us, but it was fun.  Having played tennis years ago, in the days of my youth, I managed quite well.  However, being thoroughly out of shape, I found myself running furiously in every direction for about twenty minutes and then suddenly collapsing in a whimpering heap in a corner of the court.

My experience reminded me of many Christians.  Starting off with great enthusiasm, they leap frantically around, chasing the ball and running themselves into the ground, ending up beaten in a short span of time.  This is not the way to play the game.  Watch an expert racquetball player, and you see he paces himself well, knowing just where to put his feet.  He even finishes a vigorous game with steps left over.  The idea is to plod with God, rather than to race through space.  Jill Briscoe, “The Other Side of Redemption,” Here Am I, Lord…Send Somebody Else!, 79-80

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

Mike Benson