Running With Endurance - July 12

Two weeks from today my team and I will be boarding a plane on our way back to the States. We have less than two weeks left of scheduled ministry. We’ve been at our second site for ministry for a week now. We are tired. It’s tempting to feel burned out.

In a way, this trip reminds me of the Christian life. Like my pastor says, this Christian life isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. It’s an endurance race. Moreover, God calls us to run with endurance.

Earlier on this trip, I wrote a message titled “Running with Endurance.” It is even more applicable to me now. As I share it with you, I’m preaching it to myself, praying my heart will live it.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Christian life is likened to a race. It’s active, intentional, not passive. It’s not something we can be lazy with. It calls for perseverance. This implies that it is not easy. If it were, we would not need endurance. We must keep seeking the Lord, keep praying, keep reading His word, keep living righteously. We are called to abide…or we will never bear fruit (John 15:4).

Many of you are farmers. I don’t know a lot about farming, but it’s my guess that you have to tend the farm on a regular basis if you are to have a successful crop. It wouldn’t be realistic to work the farm for an hour a week and expect bountiful results. Instead, you work diligently so that you can harvest a good reward.

Back home my father coaches a university baseball team. They have to undergo intense training so that when they play their games they are prepared. They wouldn’t have hope of victory if they didn’t practice and practice diligently.

It’s the same way in the Christian life. If we want to see fruit in our lives, if we want to live victoriously, then we must have endurance.

This leads to the question, how do we get endurance?

From this passage in Hebrews, I see two things that will fuel our endurance. Both are found in this single answer: by fixing our eyes on Jesus.

1)    Follow the example He set

·      He endured the cross

·      He endured opposition from sinful men

How did He do it? For the joy set before Him. He knew the pain that He would endure but He also knew the joy that was waiting for Him on the other side. In the same way, when we are feeling fatigue or a lack of motivation or weariness or burn-out, let us remember the joy waiting for us. We have an inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). We will be filled with joy and eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11). When we are tempted with sin, let us remember that the treasure we have in Christ will be far more satisfying than the temporary pleasure of sin. Consider Hebrews 11: 25-26

[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

The world tells us to live for the moment. But let us choose the best over the good. Let us live for an eternal reward that won’t perish, fade, or spoil.

2)    Remember that it is Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

We do have responsibility in this Christian life. But we shouldn’t fall into the thinking that everything depends on us. Jesus is the author of our faith. He is the one who saved us. We did nothing to save ourselves (see Ephesians 2:8-9). He is also the perfecter of our faith. Philippians 1:6 “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (see also Hebrews 10:14). He will see us through. He is the perfecter of our faith. Consider 2 Timothy 2:11-13:

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Even when we are faithless, He is faithful, for he cannot disown himself. He is committed to his purposes. He won’t lie. He has made a guarantee and He will see it through. He is more committed to His purposes than we are. So if we want to be holy, He wants even more for us to be holy. If we want to honor Him, He wants even more for us to honor Him. 2 Timothy 1:9, “[He] has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.”

Because our salvation does not rest on ourselves, but on God’s purposes, and because we know that He is committed to His purposes and that His purposes are sure, we can run with confidence, with perseverance, with endurance.

I find it interesting that the first 9½ chapters of Hebrews are spent making a case for the supremacy of Christ. It’s not until the last 3½ chapters that the author makes a strong exhortation for endurance. It is because of Jesus that we can have confidence. It is because of Him we can run with endurance. And endurance will never come until we see Him. When we see all that He has done, that He has championed the race ahead of us, and is interceding for us even now, then the burden is lifted. And we can run.