You Won't Lose
“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong”
I was watching, as I do pretty often, an episode of Planet Earth (or one of the spinoffs) about predators and prey. One segment showed a cheetah desperately trying to chase down and wrap her claws and mouth onto her prey. We have been taught that cheetahs are the fastest land animals, which is true to a degree. They can reach top speeds of 65-75 mph, but that speed can only be maintained for a few seconds. Cheetahs use all their energy getting up to top speed, but once they are there, they almost immediately lose gas. After a short break, they can again reach near to their top speed, but they will never achieve the initial rate until they are adequately rested. So while we often think of cheetahs as a top predator because of their speed, they really are only successful in catching their target prey about 40% of the time. When you look at it that way, it seems less impressive, doesn’t it?
There are so many revelations in nature, and the Bible gives us so many references to God’s creation - living and non-living, human and non-human. And so, as soon as I saw this segment, I found myself searching the Word for allusions to speed. I found myself at the above verse, Ecclesiastes 9:11, one that I had of course heard, but never taken the time to meditate on or study it. I have now discovered what an awesome comfort this verse is, not in the tortoise vs. hare fable way, but in a way that establishes that, in the Kingdom of God, the fatigued and frail are neither behind nor failures, neither underdogs nor destined to lose.
Having chronic illnesses can often make us feel as though we are much further behind those who have their full health. Our unpredictable abilities to perform the same tasks or attend the same events and our volatile physical conditions may cause us to falsely see that we are on a different level than the "healthy." Let’s not forget about times where others may leave us out as a precaution, protection, or burden relief. And if we are not careful, we may begin to see our lives and purposes as less important because of our inability to do things the same ways as others.
But, God tells us differently; we know who God is for. Sure, He loves all of His children, but the Bible makes it very clear those whom His heart is set on. He's for the humble, the weak, the poor, and the weary. He's for the sick, the shunned, and the sinners. While it seems that we miss out on so much because our health, or lack thereof, God pours into us new outlooks and better alternatives. Because, yes, we may not have been able to make it to those conferences or parties, but we have received a kind of peace that others have never experienced. And sure, maybe we can’t take those 14-day trekking adventures that are on our bucket lists, but what we can do is deeply understand God’s grace, and have a great appreciation for the times we can walk around a park or enjoy a stay-cation.
I want you to know that it’s a lie from satan that those who are healthy deserve - and live - better lives. Our lives are great because we are able to see and experience God’s goodness in them, not because of the things we can do and the places we can go. God’s faithfulness and grace aren’t merely seen in the manifestation of material and physical conditions. They’re seen and felt in our “inner man” when we continually have the strength and tenacity to keep moving forward despite our illnesses.
Having a diagnosis doesn’t mean you’ll finish last. Regardless of how you feel, it doesn’t even mean you’re presently behind. It doesn’t mean that what you do is less meaningful because you had to do it slower or on different terms. Your illness means that you have something to overcome. It means that God knew you could overcome it. And most importantly in the Kingdom of God, it means that you’ll have an added testimony of receiving and fully knowing God’s strength, perseverance, and grace.