Endurance

Hebrews 12:1b-2 ESV

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Paul references this life as a long-distance runner. Long distance runners are not trained so much for speed as they are endurance. Endurance for us is in the spirit. The first Christians suffered in was we probably will never know. We suffer torments from circumstances and situations, many caused by people in this life. We still have to endure in our hearts, minds and our spirits. How do we do that?

We keep our eyes on Jesus, we may not see Him, but we can vision his love, character, steadfast heart and his overcoming power and His endurance. We understand the life He lived and we try to emulate that life.

They say that a long distance runner will keep his or her eye on a goal. They may not see the finish line, but they see points that they are running to, a tree, a brook, a corner in the course or whatever they see. They tell themselves; “I will make it to that point”, then when they get there, they are looking for another goal mark.

Jesus is the points that we focus on. Every step of the way, the hardships we face, the aching bodies, the hurt feelings, the disappointments, we just keep looking to Jesus to get us to the finish line. He paid the price for our salvation, now we just need to keep focusing on Him, relying on His strength.

Prayer:

Lord, we are in a race that we cannot stop, we can’t give up, we can’t grow weary, we just have to keep running until You say it is time to stop. We are weak, You are strong. You pave the way for us, removing the stumbling blocks, pointing out the obstacles, if we will just keep our eyes on You. Help our resolve, help our focus, help us in our weakness with Your strength. In Your name Lord Jesus, Amen!