The Race

"PLIABLE: Ah, neighbor Christian, where are you now?
CHRISTIAN: To be sure, I do not know.
PLIABLE: Offended and angry, Pliable asked, "Is this the happiness you have
told me about as we have traveled? If we have such a halting
disaster at this early stage, then what may we expect from now on
till the end of our journey? If I escape out of this with my life, you
shall possess the brave country alone without me."
Hence Pliable, making several toilsome attempts, eventually
struggled out of the mire on that side of the Slough which was
closest to his own house. So he went back and Christian saw him
no more." John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

Pliable had expectations. Those expectations were that his journey was going to be pleasant. A cake walk so to speak. Upon an encounter with misfortune, Pliable abandons his excursion.

Pliable reminds me of those that have gone forward in religious meetings solely on an emotional experience. They have a very fragile walk. Often; they come in with a bang, make plenty of noise, and impressing many,  are gone just as fast.

My first pastor, Sammy Tippit, latest book is called 'The Race' it is an exceptional lesson. In it he describes how to overcome life's adversities and how to run the Christian race. I liken those like Pliable, to those who treat the Christian race as a sprint. It is certainly not a 100 meter dash, it is a marathon. In order to win a marathon you can't race it as if you are wanting to win a sprint.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with endurance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

There will be pain and hardship. The prophets and disciples endured extreme hardships just because they obeyed God. If you choose God just to feel good, you will be disappointed. Our Father does not promise happiness, he promises joy, joy that comes through knowing you are pleasing Him. When we are asked to pick up the cross and follow Him, He is not offering Disney World. He is promising an arduous race where at the end of it He will say, " Well done!