Need a Boost? Encouragement to Finish Strong in Life and Faith

This past Saturday, I ran in the Monument 10K. I’ve done this race once before, and let me be clear—I’m not trying to win the thing. But I did want to finish it… ideally without stopping.

It’s always amazing to see the crowd at this event—over 18,000 participants. The range of people is incredible: little kids, elderly walkers, Division I athletes, cancer survivors, hardcore runners, and even individuals pushing someone else in a wheelchair.

One of my buddies was checking this race off his bucket list after surviving a heart attack a few years ago!

Sure, the elite runners draw most of the hype. But for the rest of us, it’s not about speed. It’s about finishing—and finishing well.

I’ve always strived to do that: finish well. But I’ve also had seasons where friends had to remind me not to check out too early—to stay engaged.

There’s something powerful about finishing strong. About not giving up.

When I crossed the finish line of the 10K, I nearly sprinted the last stretch. Some might criticize me for having too much left in the tank—"Leave it all on the field," right?

But here’s the thing: I don’t want to burn out before the end. Too often, people—especially pastors—burn themselves out. We give and give, driven by duty, responsibility, or sometimes even self-righteousness.

But here’s what many pastors tell their people: you can’t give what you don’t have. If I spend everything at the beginning of the race, how can I finish well?

I don’t want to drag myself across the finish line. I want to be tired, yes. But I also want to know that I ran the race before me—and ran it well.

In life, we all face times of struggle and weariness. We feel like we’re at the edge. Like Bilbo Baggins once said in The Lord of the Rings, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

But the truth is, we often don’t know how far we can go until we’re pushed.

I’m reminded of that powerful scene in Facing the Giants, when the coach challenges one of his players to do a bear crawl (called in the movie - Death Crawl) across the football field—blindfolded—with a teammate on his back.

The player thinks he’s only made it 30 or 40 yards, but he collapses in the end zone. He didn’t know how much was in him until he was pushed past his limit.

Too often we don't know our true limit because we get distracted by everything around us.

This isn’t about physical strength alone. It’s about the race Jesus calls us to run. And if we’re honest, we often complain: “I’m tired. I’m not prepared. I’m not good enough.”

But God never asked us to run someone else’s race. He asks us to run the one He has set before us.

There will be times we sprint, and times we walk. Times we need the encouragement of those around us. Times we’ll be the encourager. Moments we’ll need to pause, drink some water, and regain our strength.

And in the end, we press on—no matter how much it hurts, how long it’s taken, how old we are, or what our past holds. We finish the race. We finish strong.

And the prize? It’s not a medal around our neck. It’s the voice of Jesus saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Hebrews 12:1–2 says:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…”

So here’s the challenge: 
Run your race. Don’t give up. Don’t burn out. Fix your eyes on Jesus. And when it’s your turn to cross the finish line—cross it strong.

Anyway, I was just thinking…