The Galatian's splendid start in the race (“you were running well,” v. 7) of the Christian life had not continued. Their detour into legalism was certainly not God’s will. This evil attack was a hinderance from “obeying the truth,” and did not come from “Him who calls you.” This is a reminder to all of us that in our daily Christian walk/race/journey, we will face many temptations and distractions. From the beginning of our day when we have our quiet time, Satan will attack us with distractions and try to take our eyes off God. And throughout the day, we will be faced with obstacles and challenges that will lead us to seek those things or depend on our own abilities. And even when we are about to end our day at night, the attacks continue and distractions come. So, remember to seek God and ask for His help to depend on Him, to have freedom from spiritual attacks, and to run the race well.

Paul was fond of athletic illustrations and used them often in his letters. His readers were familiar with the Olympic games as well as other Greek athletic contests that always included foot races. It is important to note that Paul never uses the image of the race to tell people how to be saved. He is always talking to Christians about how to live the Christian life. A contestant in the Greek games had to be a citizen before he could compete.[1] We become citizens of heaven through faith in Christ; then the Lord puts us on our course, and we run to win the prize (cf. Phil. 3:12–21). We do not run to be saved; we run because we are already saved and want to fulfill God’s will in our lives (Acts 20:24).