ENDURANCE

 2 Timothy 2:3

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

                I took off for my run on a crisp 50-degree morning this morning. My muscles were stiff and I was tempted to cut my run short. But as I got warmed up and some of the stiffness abated, I settled in and completed my normal run. As I was running, I thought about how distance running is all about endurance. It is developing the strength to keep going when others quit; to keep going even when you want to quit. Endurance is strength for the long haul.

                Endurance and perseverance are closely linked. Perseverance is the will to keep going. Endurance is the strength to keep going. A person may have the will to keep going, but if they don’t have the endurance, they will be unable to. A person my have the strength to keep going, but if they do not have the desire to, they will not. A person needs both endurance and perseverance to succeed.

                The Christian life requires both spiritual endurance and perseverance. We build endurance through spiritual strength training. We develop perseverance through fostering the right attitude and keeping things in perspective. The Christian life is like running a marathon. A person has to understand how to pace themselves for the long haul. Too many people approach their faith as a sprint, only to run out of energy and give up. Too many, after a long life of spiritual service, falter near the end and fail to endure. When the hardships and challenges of life come our way, we have a choice to make. We can give up or we can persevere and endure.

                The Apostle Paul is an example of spiritual endurance. If anyone was ever tempted to say “enough is enough” it would have been Paul. As Paul went from town to town preaching the Gospel, he was met with strong resistance. It cost him dearly to keep going, but he endured. Paul expressed his struggle to the believers in Corinth.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)

                 Paul was able to endure because he looked beyond his struggles to the one who gave him strength. He had learned that he could face any challenge when he did it in the strength of the Lord. He was energized by the reality that he was not alone in his struggles, but that Christ was with him. We have all experienced this in much smaller ways. When challenges come, we are better able to endure when someone else is going with us. When we turn our eyes toward Jesus during times of struggle, we will discover the strength to persevere. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, but He will see us through.          

                Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon. At that time, I had the desire but not the ability. I began to run on a daily basis; first one mile, then two, three, four, and so on. Over time I built up the endurance to be able to run the full 13.2 miles. Each mile that I ran was preparation for accomplishing my goal of running the half marathon.

                If we are going to succeed in the journey of faith, we need to build up our spiritual endurance. The writer of Hebrews challenges us to see the hardships we face in life as God’s training ground. God allows us to face diverse challenges to strengthen our spiritual muscles, just as running that extra mile strengthens your physical muscles.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:7-13)

                 I almost gave up on my run this morning. I told myself that I could turn back at the 1-mile mark, but I didn’t. I pushed on and endured until the end. I was glad that I had kept going. It would have been easy to give up, but then I would have forfeited to benefits of running the full distance.

                There as times when we are tempted to give up spiritually. Life is hard. Swimming against the mainstream of the world takes enormous effort. It would be easier to just give in and go with the flow. But if we do, we will miss out on the benefits of enduring.

                As I pushed past the one-mile mark, I reminded myself that it was not about how fast I ran, but that I kept going. It is the same on our spiritual journey. It is not about how fast we are going, but that we keep going, especially when times get tough. We need both perseverance and endurance to win the race.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

(1 Corinthians 9:26-27)