Standing While Running
Like a cable car gripped to its source of movement, I run the race of life by standing firm in Christ within.
Ray Stedman’s devotional invites us into a beautiful paradox—one that seems like a contradiction at first glance, but becomes a portrait of abiding life in Christ once properly understood. In Philippians 3, Paul compares the Christian life to a race: something fast-paced, filled with obstacles and forward motion. But just a few verses later, he urges us in chapter 4:1 to “stand firm.” How can we do both—run and stand?
The answer is found not in our movement, but in our source. Life races forward with demands and trials, like a steep San Francisco hill under a cable car. But that car doesn't move itself. It simply grips the cable running beneath it—one steady connection to a hidden power.
Likewise, the Christian life isn’t powered by our own efforts or determination. It’s not about gathering strength to leap every hurdle. It's about gripping Christ. It’s about standing firm in our yielded connection to His unchanging life within. We run because we’re carried. We stand because we’re gripped. The movement of our lives is not self-propelled—it’s Spirit-powered. And in that paradox, we find the joy of resting in motion.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture
You are not self-propelled. You were never meant to be. I have made you to move by resting, to overcome by yielding, to run by standing. Your life in Christ is not a test of endurance but a testimony of dependence.
I have set you on the path, and though you see obstacles, I am the Way. Do not lean on your own understanding, for in all your ways I am directing your steps. As you fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, you will find yourself carried forward—not by striving, but by trust.
Stand firm in Me. Let your feet be rooted not in your willpower, but in the finished work of Christ. Let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and mind. This peace is not passive—it is active and powerful. It steadies you when the road rises steeply and the pressure builds.
You press on by pressing in. You endure by embracing. Your sufficiency is not in what you can do for Me but in what I have already done in you. Christ in you is the hope of glory, the One who strengthens you to do all things. So remain in Him. Grip the Source. Let Him move you as you abide. And you will discover, as Paul did, the secret of contentment in every circumstance—Christ is your life.
Scriptures woven in: Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 4:7, Colossians 1:27, Philippians 4:13, John 15:4, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 4:11-13
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that I am not the engine of this life. You are the Life within me. You are the One who runs the race through me and lifts me over every hill. I trust You to live Your life through me today—not just in quiet moments but in every task, every challenge, every unexpected twist. I grip Your life in me. I rest in the movement You supply. There is no pressure in this race, only the peace of knowing I am carried in Your strength and held in Your love. I walk forward, fully at rest in You.
Devotional insights adapted from Immeasurably More by Ray Stedman.
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