Guided by God

“The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth.” (John 16:13 VOICE)

Ryan Hall is one of the fastest American marathoners in history. Yet, in the running world, he is best known for his unconventional training choices. When filling out official forms, Ryan lists God as his coach. He creates his daily running schedule based on the guidance he gets after prayer. His faith-based training regimen has not guaranteed success at every race. Ryan has experienced peaks, plateaus, and valleys in his career. He has been sidelined by injuries. Although he was favored to medal at the 2012 Olympics, he had to drop out halfway through the marathon with a hamstring injury. Through it all, he has held on to the habit of following God’s guidance. In 2015, Ryan and his wife Sara adopted four sisters from an orphanage in Ethiopia. This couple, who are still in their thirties, are now parents of teenagers. Their commitment to live by faith and serve others has been an inspiration and a blessing to many.

Ryan’s talent as an athlete is impressive, but it is his faith that has made an impression on me. I have no aspirations of running as well as Ryan. I do, however, find his decision-making process fascinating. I would like to seek God’s guidance in every aspect of my life and follow His directions, even when they don’t make logical sense. Especially in the hard seasons, when faith-based choices seem irrational and impractical, I want to lean on the Lord. My idea of success is a meaningful life of godly purpose. For this to happen, I need to hand over my thoughts, priorities, motivations, attitudes, perspectives, goals, behaviors, and relationships to God. The Spirit of truth will guide me in all truth. All that I am and all that I do must be led by this Spirit.