Marathon To Heaven

Join Esther Maldonado in this episode as she invites you to lace up your spiritual running shoes and explore life as a "Marathon to Heaven." Drawing inspiration from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, we uncover how our Christian journey is akin to a long-distance race, meticulously funded by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we navigate through the challenges of this marathon, from temptation to trials that life throws our way, discover how perseverance and resilience, with encouragement from our divine coach, lead us toward the incorruptible crown of heaven.

Together, we reflect on the significant metaphors of running and endurance, recognizing that our journey is not just about crossing the finish line but about the relationship we nurture with the Father along the way. We share insights on the transformative power of maintaining faith amidst life's toughest conditions, just as a marathon runner pushes through rain, fatigue, and even physical pain. Engaging analogies and heartfelt discussion underscore the assurance that God knows our capabilities and has chosen us for this race with great purpose. Come along as we find motivation in the promise of eternal life and the immeasurable joy of being in God's presence, urging each other to keep running with hope and unwavering faith.

Thank you for listening! Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube @myfaithline to stay updated about our weekly episodes. Let us help you Find Joy in Your Journey Today!! To support our journey please visit our web page at www.myfaithline.com God Bless!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Joy in this Journey podcast by
Faithline.
Join us as we bring you weeklyepisodes on Bible devotionals to
empower you to live in faith.
By faith, through God's grace,Find joy in your journey today.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
God bless you all and welcome back to another episode
of Join this Journey byFaithline.
Today we'll be focusing on theMarathon to Heaven and how to
continue moving forward.
The verses we will be readingand be focusing on is found in 1
Corinthians 9, verse 24 to thefirst part of 27, and we read

(00:46):
his holy word in the name of theFather, the Son and the Holy
Spirit amen, know ye not thatthey which run in a race run all
but one receives the prize.
So run that ye may obtain, andevery man that strives for the
mastery is tempered in allthings.
Now they do it to obtainincorruptible ground, but we are

(01:08):
incorruptible.
I therefore so run, not asuncertainty.
So fight I, not as one thatbeateth the air, but I keep
under my body and bring it untorejection, amen.
So what does this verse meanand how do we apply it to our
life?
Well, we start from verse 24.

(01:29):
We read that us, as Christians,when we accept Jesus Christ as
our Savior, we enter into thismarathon to heaven in order to
obtain a crown, an incorruptiblecrown found in heaven, given by
our father in heaven, for beingable to overcome this world,

(01:52):
and the only way we can overcomeis through his holy spirit.
If you ever heard of a marathon,you know that a marathon is a
race that you're either runningto fund something, running for a
cause or any other like themeor fundraiser.
You're running and it's notjust a simple race, but it is a

(02:17):
race that you continue for milesand miles until you obtain the
goal of where you want to reach.
And for us, when we apply thisto our life, we find that Jesus
is the one who paid for us to beable to run here, and he funded
this marathon for us to be ableto run without any excuse.

(02:45):
In a way, he made the way forus to run.
What does this mean?
As runners, we must focus onthe end, and Jesus paid for us
to run.
In this marathon, even more, wehave to make sure that we run
and we make it to the end, andsometimes that seems so

(03:07):
difficult because, as runners,there's so many obstacles, so
many things are coming away,whether it be from our body, or
hunger, or thirst, or even theweather.
Like people will still run amarathon, even if it's pouring,
raining or snowing or likereally hard winds.
And, as Christians, for usthat's running through difficult

(03:29):
moments, running throughtemptation, running through
different obstacles that canbring up as we run this race.
But the whole reason of thismarathon is to make it to heaven
, not to give up in the middleof the way, not to just stand in
the middle of the way, not tojust stand there and contemplate
if you should continue runningor not.

(03:50):
But this marathon is for us tokeep going forward, for us to
focus on the one true king whofought the way for us to be part
of this marathon, and he choseus to run.
He didn't make a mistakebecause he knew we were capable.
He's our coach.
He knows what we're capable ofand how far we can make, and he

(04:11):
believes and he trusts in usthat we can make it to the end.
He sees it in us.
He already sees us already withthat crown, uncorruptible crown
, a crown that's everlasting andit's not.
We don't just and we're notdesiring to go to heaven just
for a crown, but the crown isthe prize that we gain.

(04:32):
It signifies that we made it.
There's going to be peace andjoy and happiness and we're
going to be in the feet of theFather.
We're going to be in Hispresence eternally, praising His
holy name and in order to getthere we have to go through a

(04:53):
lot.
There's a lot of strugglesrunners go through.
I've seen people who have tochange their shoes, or some
people that they don't changetheir shoes at all and their
toes get burned out or they comeout.
A lot of them end up in thehospital because of how intense

(05:14):
this race is, and for us asChristians, we definitely know
that it's not easy.
But what makes us continuepushing forward is knowing that
at the end we're going toreceive an uncomfortable crown,
a crown that's uncomparable toanything this world can offer,
but it's a crown that signifiesthat we've made it and the only
way we can make it.
We can't make it on our ownstrength.

(05:35):
We can't make it on our ownknowledge and our own form.
The only way we can make it isthrough the help and the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The only way we can make it isthrough the help and the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus has sent his Spirit toour lives to strengthen us, to
comfort us, to guide us, to beour refuge and strength to
continue going forward.
And His Holy Spirit when wefollow Him every time we feel

(05:57):
like we're incapable of going.
His Holy Spirit strengthens usto be able to make it to the end
, and this is the privilege, asChristians, we have running this
marathon People who run themarathon.
In real life they don't havethat person to say, okay, I'll
cover you, I'll strengthen you,I'll give you you need.

(06:18):
And some people have, like afriend that will stay in at some
point of the marathon to givethem water or new shoes or
something that they need.
But the the privilege we havewith the holy spirit is that he
knows exactly what we need andwe don't have to fudge around
figuring out.
He knows exactly what we need.
He knows how much strength weneed.

(06:39):
He knows how difficult it isbecause he lives inside of us
and he sees how we feel.
He knows how we are.
You know feeling as we're goingthrough whatever we're going
through, and we have to trust inhis holy spirit.
We have to come to him andthat's something I've been
learning to just lean on HolySpirit, lean on the Father, lean

(07:00):
on Jesus, to continue movingforward whenever we open our
Bibles to James, chapter 1,verse 12.
It says less is the man thatadores temptation, for when he
is tried he shall receive thecrown of life which the Lord
hath promised to them that lovehim", meaning that we cannot

(07:21):
withstand anything, but throughHis Holy Spirit we can endure
temptation, we can enduredifficult times, we can endure
whatever is in front of us.
We can confront it through HisHoly Spirit, not with our own
strength, not with our owncapability.
Only through His Holy Spirit,us.
We can confront it through hisholy spirit.
Now with our own strength, nowwith our own capability, only
through his holy spirit.
And so we have to focus onmaking sure that we're certain

(07:48):
that we want to continue forward, and we have to continue with
that certainty that our goal,our final aim, is to receive a
crown of glory, because Jesusfought for us to be able to run
in this marathon, and if we werechosen to run is because he

(08:08):
knows we're more than capableand through his Holy Spirit we
can make it to the end.
That's all for today.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand have received another word
of strength from the Holy Spiritof God, and this is your sister
, esther.
God bless you.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
If you liked today's episode and find that our
podcasts are helping you findjoy in your journey, please
leave us a review in the podcastapp and tell us your story and
how we assisted you in findingjoy.
Don't forget to reach out to usby taking a screenshot of any
of our podcasts and posting iton your Instagram or Facebook,
tagging us in at MyFaithLine,and we will comment back.

(08:51):
Join us next week for moreepisodes on finding joy in your
journey through faith.
Until next time, remember tolive in faith by faith, through
God's grace.
God bless you.