The Race Is Not to the Swift
Ecclesiastes 9:11
"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
The verse above should be an encouragement to the average person because you don't have to be the best to win. Let's face it, most of the people who make up this world are just average people. Many times average people believe that life is stacked against them, but that is not true. There is a way that even the average can win.
The verse above says, "the race is not to the swift,..." You don't have to be the fastest, you just have to outlast the fastest person. If you will keep going when the fastest person quits, then you can still win the race. This verse says, "nor the battle to the strong,..." Again, you don't have to be the strongest, you just have to outfight the stronger person. The verse above is simply teaching that you don't have to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, richest or the most skilled to win. Talent is not what wins in life, normally it is the person who simply outworks all of these.
Christian, most of the people whom God used in the Scriptures were average people. Gideon was an average person when his brethren cast him out when he was young. David was such an average child that when the man of God came to anoint a new king that his father and the man of God did not think he was good enough to be the next king. Moses was not the most eloquent speaker of his day for he had a speech impediment. Paul was not the physical specimen that would draw the attention of the crowd. The disciples of Jesus Christ were not the most educated men in their day. Yet, all of these were used by God to do great things, and all of these were highly successful people.
Most of the time you will find that those who win are not those who are the most talented, but those who win are those who outwork everyone else. You don't have to be the best to win, all you have to do is work harder than the best. It is amazing how the hardest workers seem to be the luckiest people in life. If you will decide to outwork those who are the most talented, you will find that you can succeed and end up the winner.
Preacher boy, you may not be the best preacher out there, but you can still build the largest church if you will work harder than every other preacher. Sunday school teacher, you may not have the best personality or be the most educated, but you can build the largest Sunday school class if you will outwork every other Sunday school teacher. Student, you may not be the gifted student, and good grades may be hard to come by, but you can be the top of your class if you will out-study every other student. Whatever your situation is, you can end up on top if you will work harder in that area.
I simply want to encourage you to remember that the race is not to the swift, the race is to the one who will keep on running when others quit. When the smartest stop studying, you keep on studying. When the richest stop earning, you keep on earning. When the most skilled stop working, you keep on working. If you will outlast and outwork everyone else, you can be the winner. Stop whining about everybody else being better than you, and suck it up, decide to work harder, and you will see success. You can be a success, but you will only be a success, not because you are the best, but because you outwork everyone else.