I will never forget the one and only day I spent on the high school cross country team. It was a sweltering August day in Georgia and I was 16 years old. Dozens of teenagers showed up to practice that day and had no problem running three miles at the speed of light around the country roads surrounding our school.

I was not one of them. About a mile in (and a mile behind the others) I had to admit defeat as I flailed back to the school and collapsed on the pavement, sweating and discouraged.

As I lay on the ground I realized that the one thing I needed that hot August day was the one thing I didn’t have: endurance.

You Have Need of Endurance

Twenty years have come and gone since I quit the cross country team before the season even began. However, it is ironic to note that the same day I quit the team was the day I began to run. And I have been jogging for twenty years now, only stopping when absolutely necessary.

I knew I wanted to run, but I had to develop endurance.

Paul encourages the early church with his words in Hebrews 10:35-36: “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

Endurance by definition is “the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue,stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina.” 

We live in an era of instant coffee, microwave dinners, online shopping, and even pain relievers that promise “instant” relief from headaches.

But when it comes to our faith, endurance rather than fair-weather friendship is what Christ is after.

The Way of Endurance

We can cultivate endurance through faith, focus and habitual practice.

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is a gift from God. We can’t conjure up faith. We can’t make ourselves believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has promised. God’s Spirit is the one who draws all people unto himself. We are utterly helpless without him.

When He opens our eyes to the truth and we are filled with faith, we can then receive God’s grace to endure. Without faith in God’s grace, spiritual endurance is impossible.

If you are looking for examples of those who finished well, check out Hebrews 11. These are individuals who endured great hardship, persecution, ridicule, and pain because they were focused on the outcome of their faith – the salvation of their souls. Of Moses it is said, “he endured as seeing him who was invisible.”

For those who long to endure, Scripture gives some clear directives: “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and…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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

It’s not enough to catch a glimpse of Christ as we begin to run. That’s why the passage says we ought to “fix our eyes” on Christ, which implies a constant focus. We must make it a habit to gaze upon Christ if we want to finish our race strong.

In summary, when we begin each day with the end in mind we will surely run well. Keep the truth before you. Keep Christ and the love He demonstrated on the cross ever before you. Keep your mind set on things above. Keep running, friends!