If Life Is a Race, I’m Sitting This One Out God Didn’t Call Me to Compete, He Called Me to Align

Life Is Not a Race. Who Are We Competing With?

I was having a conversation with someone recently, just casual, nothing deep, or so I thought. Somewhere in the conversation they quoted the saying, “Slow and steady wins the race.”

It landed funny in my spirit.

Not offensive. Not wrong. Just… unsettled.

I nodded in the moment, but later, quiet, alone, and mind wandering, that sentence came back. And it didn’t come back gently. It sat with me. It lingered. It demanded to be questioned.

I’ve been sitting with this thought, and it won’t leave me alone.

People love to say, “Slow and steady wins the race.” But I need someone to explain to me what race?

Because a race implies competition. A race implies someone to beat. A race implies a finish line that determines who did life “right.”

And I’m genuinely confused. Who am I racing against if I’m walking in my purpose?

If I’m focused on becoming who God is shaping me to be, then what exactly am I supposed to be winning? Who is losing?

We’ve normalized this idea that life is something you’re supposed to keep up with. That if you’re not married by a certain age, earning a certain amount, healed by a certain season, or “established” by a certain timeline, you’re behind.

Behind whom?

Nobody says that part out loud.

And don’t tell me, “Oh, the race is just against yourself,” or “You’re racing against time.” That’s not a race. That’s a journey.

Growth doesn’t need a stopwatch. Healing doesn’t move on deadlines. Purpose doesn’t arrive because you hurried it.

God doesn’t rush. And He definitely doesn’t compete.

A race assumes urgency. But purpose assumes alignment.

Some of us are exhausted not because we’re doing too much but because we’ve been running in a direction we were never called to sprint in.

We’re tired because we think rest means falling behind. We’re anxious because we think waiting means losing. We’re insecure because we think someone else is “ahead.”

Ahead of what?

Ahead of your calling? Ahead of your process? Ahead of your lessons?

That math doesn’t add up.

Life was never meant to be won. It was meant to be lived.

And maybe instead of saying “slow and steady wins the race,” we need to start saying:

• Alignment over speed.

• Faithfulness over performance.

• Obedience over urgency.

Because when you’re walking in what’s meant for you, there is no race. There is only becoming.

And becoming takes time.

God never asked me to hurry. He asked me to trust Him.

So I’m done measuring my life against clocks, calendars, and other people’s highlights. If there’s a race happening, I’m not registered.

I’m walking with God. And He’s never late.

Unrushed. Unbothered. Becoming.

Alexya Newman-Wong