Spiritual Training

I am not a runner.  It's not that I don't like running, but my feet and knees can't take the stress of pounding the pavement or anything else for that matter.  My niece is a runner.  She made the track team a couple of years ago, and she has been running every since.  She had a meet yesterday and did very well, a first and second place finish.  I'm very proud of her for sticking with it.  You see, the first year she ran, she didn't have many first and second place finishes.  She has worked very hard to improve her times.  She doesn't just show up on race day and take off.  She runs and runs and runs and runs, each time getting stronger and stronger.  In other words, she trains.  Last night in Bible study, we looked at 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.  I have read these verses many times, and have always taken away that I need to run the race and finish strong.  Last night, however, we talked about the spiritual training that it takes in order to be able to run the race and finish strong.  We can't just show up on the day of the run and expect to finish well.  We need to be training for the race.  How do we train?  We read our Bibles daily.  It doesn't have to be a whole book or even a whole chapter.  God fed the Isrealites manna daily in portions that were just enough for that day.  I think that we should feed our spirits in the same manner.  We need to worship God daily; not just on Sundays.  We need to communicate with God daily; not just when we need something.  We need to come to church on Sunday prepared to worship a Holy God; not just because we are supposed to go to church.  We need to share the love of God with everyone that we meet; not just each other.  I know that doing all of these things on a daily basis is sometimes hard, but doing the hard work is what makes you stronger.  I don't know about you, but I want to be as strong as possible each day when I put my shoes on and hit the trail.  I don't want to merely crawl across that finish line; I want to race across it with my head held high as my friends and family who have already made it cheer me home!