| Hitting the Wall -the Popeye Syndrome- By Chaplain Rod Davis |
All scripture references are from The New International Version of The Bible.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to
me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have
longed for his appearing. (2Tim. 4:7-8)
There's a phrase that runners use to describe what happens to
them between the eighteenth and twenty-fifth mile of a
marathon. During a marathon runners often run out of fuel, or
energy. This takes place when their body exhausts all its
carbohydrate fuel and starts burning fat for energy instead. This is
commonly called muscle fatigue. When this happens many begin
to lag behind in the slow lane instead of going at their usual top
speed with the other runners. Sometimes runners get so tired that
they feel like they can't even put one foot in front of the other.
This urge to stop running is known as "hitting the wall." It
describes an apparently insurmountable physiological barrier that
can stop a runner in their tracks-- consuming their will to finish
the race.
This can also happen in the Christian race. There are times in your
life when you're racing along at top speed and feel like the world
is your oyster and then suddenly-- wham! You run smack dab
into a wall. The world suddenly begins to fall down around you.
Your zeal starts to dwindle. Your joy begins to drain and peace
seems to evade you. It's then that you find yourself just chugging
along in the slow lane of life-- on the verge of giving up. You've
hit the wall.
Have you ever been there? I certainly have. I am keenly aware of
the weariness that one feels when the Enemy unleashes a series of
assaults on your world. I know all too well the sensations that
one experiences when fear and doubt erupts in one's heart. I know
how it feels when all hell seems to break loose against you and
life smacks you senseless. It's what I call, "the Popeye Syndrome."
You remember what Popeye, the famous cartoon caractor, says
when he's pushed to his limits, "Tha's all I can stands, and I can't
stands no more!" What do you do when you've reached your
limits-- when you "can?t stands no more"? What do you do when
you hit the wall?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1)
God has a race marked out for us. It's a race that is tailor fit just
for each of us. It's a direction-a course-a calling for our life
that's designed in the heart of a loving God. In addition, there's
also a wall waiting for us on our course. This wall is an interval in
our life when our resources dry up, our energy is spent, and we
feel like we can't go on. Like the marathon runner, we come to
an apparently insurmountable physiological barrier. Now, what
do we do when this happens? How do we push through our walls?
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9)
In the original Greek the words "give up" come from a word that
literally means "to be faint, to grow weary, to be enfeebled
through exhaustion or to be tired out." It's the same word used
in Hebrews 12:3, "Consider him who endured such opposition
from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Ph.4:13)
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD
Almighty. (Zec. 4;6)
Godly perseverance is the key to smashing through that wall. We
must keep on keeping on. But most importantly, we must totally
depend on God for the victory. Psalm 18:29 says, "With your help
I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."
... for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. (Gal.6:9)
The phase, "proper time" in the Greek literally means "a fixed and
definite time." There is a crucial time element involved in this
race of ours. A harvest is waiting for us on the other side of each
wall we encounter. However, it will only be released to us at the
precise time that we choose to persevere, push beyond human
endurance, and spring forth into Spiritual endurance. "We will
reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Remember the Dr. Seuss story entitled, Horton Hatches the Egg.
In the narrative, Mazie was very a lazy bird. She did not like
sitting on eggs. It was boring and she wanted to see the world. So
she asked Horton, a somewhat naive elephant, to sit on her egg
while she took a vacation. Horton agrees to egg-sit and stays
faithful to the task through the autumn, through the icy cold of
winter and into the spring.
Then one day some hunters captured Horton and took him--
tree, egg and all-- to a circus. He doesn't like being a captive,
but Horton's slogan was "faithful 100%", so he would not leave
the egg. Eventually the egg hatched and Horton became the
happy mother of a bouncing baby bird.
To me the moral of this classic story is simple. Don't get off the
nest! Stay in the race, no matter how weary you may feel. Don't
give into the temptation to succumb to the pressures of this
world. Your harvest is on the other side of that wall. Be
persistent. Keep pushing against that wall. Cowboy up! Become
like Popeye and stir up that fight that lies deep inside you. You
don't need a can of spinach, you've got the power of the Holly
Spirit churning inside you. Release it!
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:26)
It's not easy pushing through that wall, but anything worthwhile
is seldom easy. Remember this when you're hitting a wall-- get
your fight up and trust in God to give you the victory. Harvest is
on the other side the wall. So, keep on pushing!
... for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. (Gal.6:9)
the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to
me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have
longed for his appearing. (2Tim. 4:7-8)
There's a phrase that runners use to describe what happens to
them between the eighteenth and twenty-fifth mile of a
marathon. During a marathon runners often run out of fuel, or
energy. This takes place when their body exhausts all its
carbohydrate fuel and starts burning fat for energy instead. This is
commonly called muscle fatigue. When this happens many begin
to lag behind in the slow lane instead of going at their usual top
speed with the other runners. Sometimes runners get so tired that
they feel like they can't even put one foot in front of the other.
This urge to stop running is known as "hitting the wall." It
describes an apparently insurmountable physiological barrier that
can stop a runner in their tracks-- consuming their will to finish
the race.
This can also happen in the Christian race. There are times in your
life when you're racing along at top speed and feel like the world
is your oyster and then suddenly-- wham! You run smack dab
into a wall. The world suddenly begins to fall down around you.
Your zeal starts to dwindle. Your joy begins to drain and peace
seems to evade you. It's then that you find yourself just chugging
along in the slow lane of life-- on the verge of giving up. You've
hit the wall.
Have you ever been there? I certainly have. I am keenly aware of
the weariness that one feels when the Enemy unleashes a series of
assaults on your world. I know all too well the sensations that
one experiences when fear and doubt erupts in one's heart. I know
how it feels when all hell seems to break loose against you and
life smacks you senseless. It's what I call, "the Popeye Syndrome."
You remember what Popeye, the famous cartoon caractor, says
when he's pushed to his limits, "Tha's all I can stands, and I can't
stands no more!" What do you do when you've reached your
limits-- when you "can?t stands no more"? What do you do when
you hit the wall?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1)
God has a race marked out for us. It's a race that is tailor fit just
for each of us. It's a direction-a course-a calling for our life
that's designed in the heart of a loving God. In addition, there's
also a wall waiting for us on our course. This wall is an interval in
our life when our resources dry up, our energy is spent, and we
feel like we can't go on. Like the marathon runner, we come to
an apparently insurmountable physiological barrier. Now, what
do we do when this happens? How do we push through our walls?
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9)
In the original Greek the words "give up" come from a word that
literally means "to be faint, to grow weary, to be enfeebled
through exhaustion or to be tired out." It's the same word used
in Hebrews 12:3, "Consider him who endured such opposition
from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Ph.4:13)
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD
Almighty. (Zec. 4;6)
Godly perseverance is the key to smashing through that wall. We
must keep on keeping on. But most importantly, we must totally
depend on God for the victory. Psalm 18:29 says, "With your help
I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."
... for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. (Gal.6:9)
The phase, "proper time" in the Greek literally means "a fixed and
definite time." There is a crucial time element involved in this
race of ours. A harvest is waiting for us on the other side of each
wall we encounter. However, it will only be released to us at the
precise time that we choose to persevere, push beyond human
endurance, and spring forth into Spiritual endurance. "We will
reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Remember the Dr. Seuss story entitled, Horton Hatches the Egg.
In the narrative, Mazie was very a lazy bird. She did not like
sitting on eggs. It was boring and she wanted to see the world. So
she asked Horton, a somewhat naive elephant, to sit on her egg
while she took a vacation. Horton agrees to egg-sit and stays
faithful to the task through the autumn, through the icy cold of
winter and into the spring.
Then one day some hunters captured Horton and took him--
tree, egg and all-- to a circus. He doesn't like being a captive,
but Horton's slogan was "faithful 100%", so he would not leave
the egg. Eventually the egg hatched and Horton became the
happy mother of a bouncing baby bird.
To me the moral of this classic story is simple. Don't get off the
nest! Stay in the race, no matter how weary you may feel. Don't
give into the temptation to succumb to the pressures of this
world. Your harvest is on the other side of that wall. Be
persistent. Keep pushing against that wall. Cowboy up! Become
like Popeye and stir up that fight that lies deep inside you. You
don't need a can of spinach, you've got the power of the Holly
Spirit churning inside you. Release it!
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:26)
It's not easy pushing through that wall, but anything worthwhile
is seldom easy. Remember this when you're hitting a wall-- get
your fight up and trust in God to give you the victory. Harvest is
on the other side the wall. So, keep on pushing!
... for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. (Gal.6:9)
| All scripture references are from The New International Version of The Bible. |