HITTING THE WALL

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2.

When people run marathons, they often talk about hitting the wall. Everything can seemingly be going OK, and then your legs simultaneously feel like they are made of jelly. Every step is an absolute triumph of will, and you start to seriously doubt that the race even has a finish line. It usually happens to runners around the 18-22-mile mark, when their bodies simply run out of energy.

We are all running our crazy races in life. “Hitting the wall,” encountering our limits, is inevitable. Whether it comes in the form of a health or financial crisis, unmet expectations, the death of a loved one, or something else, hitting the wall spiritually can be both humbling and distressing. In that place, we see who we are and are not. We realize that we are not God and that we have limits. In fact, in our life with God, the inevitable end of our human strength brings us into something better: the infinite strength of God.

We all know there is no way to grow other than to encounter limits. In exercise, when we “hit the wall,” we can either pull back or press forward to develop new muscles or skills. The same is true in our spiritual life. The moment we encounter our human limits is simultaneously the moment we begin to lean on and stretch our growth and development.

Meeting our human limitations is a potential encounter with God’s joyful presence and shaping grace. When we reach the end of ourselves, we also have an opportunity to see ourselves become more like Christ as the Holy Spirit enters into our weak places to shape us, both individually and as His community, for the glory of God.

As we find ourselves running slogging through a long, seemingly impossible race, we realize that Jesus has already won the race—for all of us—through the cross.

Whatever our wall is, it’s in those moments that we have a critical decision to make. We can cave into discouragement and all the negative thoughts and quit. Or, we can look to the Lord, who knows the solutions and how to bring down even the most rigid walls. His grace is more than sufficient for us, even that His power is made perfect, as St. Paul wrote, “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).   

Discussion Questions:

1. What does “hit the wall” mean in your own life?
2. How do you cope with discouragement or “hitting the wall?”
3. How can we maintain faith and trust in God when experiencing difficult times or “hitting the wall”?”