Is A Marathon In Your Future?

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”  Hebrews 10:36

I have never, ever, ever ran a marathon.

I don’t think I will ever, ever, ever run a marathon.

It’s too hard, hard, hard. I’m too soft, soft, soft.

Get the picture?

My endurance level for something like that is wayyy down on the scale of things. I admire those that do. I truly do. I admire those that train endlessly for an athletic accomplishment, but it just has never been my bag.

Some of you, you’re on your umpteenth race and training for more. I say, bravo! Go get em.

I think a big part of my lack of desire, is about the training through the pain. I do a basic amount of exercising now, and that alone causes things to hurt, bones to creek, and muscles to ache. It’s just not appealing.

But if you ask those that do in fact train, they talk about how the results outweigh the trials. They talk about the accomplishment when the race is won, or at least finished. They talk about a deep-down gut filled thing that pushes them. It’s almost unexplainable.

They push through. They accept defeats. They persevere.

For those of you that subscribe to our site, you know that we have created a year-long monthly devotional exclusively for our subscribers.  (click here to view). Each month we determine a new topic to study about. This month, the month of March, is Perseverance. You want to know why? Because March is a month that can be heavy to deal with. The New Year’s resolutions are coming to an end. Winter is well rooted. The cold is getting old. New beginnings often resemble old habits. It is a time of the year that gets a little tough, and a little overwhelming.

As so can be our faith.

So can be our steadfastness in our journey.

It can waiver. It can stumble. It can falter.

God knew that. For Pete’s sake, (pardon the pun if you get it) the bible is full of people stumbling and falling and wanting to give up. Yet, God wanted us also to see a different side. He wanted us to see that sometimes we need that extra oomph to keep going. We need that reminder we are here for so much more. We need the reminder that success in this life is tallied more about success for the next life.

But it’s so challenging, isn’t it?

The day-to-day stressors that filter in and hang on.
The doubts that question everything we believe sometimes.
The troubles that mount without solutions.

It seems to never stop.

Yet, what are our choices?

Do we not get up in the morning?
Do we go on strike?
Do we give in and give up?
Boy, I want to say “Yes and Amen” to all of those!! And sometimes, I guess, we need to say that for a brief moment—sometimes the batteries need to be recharged by doing “nothing.”

But overall, it’s about the old one foot in front of the other mantra—isn’t it? It’s about trudging through when troubles rise.

It can be done. Can I share an example? There is a special woman I know that lives by this. Ok, I call her mom. She has reached the grand old age of 84 and she runs circles around people half her age. Her days are full and her hands stay busy. The number of her years hasn’t defined her determination. She’s a woman who has had plenty of reasons to not get up in the morning. She’s a woman who went through more than one pit of despair over her lifetime. Yet, her steadfastness eventually led her to the feet of a Savior and she hasn’t stopped living the Word since. That, my friends, is an example of faithful perseverance.

The Apostle Paul certainly had similar. He wrote about it numerous of times.
He was wealthy; he was poor.
He was healthy; he was sick.
He was free; he was enslaved.
He was calm; he was fretful.
He was loved; he was beaten.
The man had plenty of reasons to pull the sheets over his head and declare to be on strike.

But Paul didn’t do that. In fact, he has become our biggest encourager to do just the opposite. Paul will forever remind us that our faith and our belief absolutely require us to move forward.

Isn’t that the message of the entire bible? Isn’t that the message of our Savior? I think we miss that so much of the time. Ours is not to defeat problems, ours is to move towards the Divine.[clickToTweet tweet=”Ours is not to defeat problems, ours is to move towards the Divine.” quote=”Ours is not to defeat problems, ours is to move towards the Divine.”] Our faith must be one that says even in the difficulties we will persevere. Not just in a worldly way, but the way of what the Cross did for us. The way that says we follow Christ, no matter the cost—because the reward is waiting.

I know I will never have a single soul tell me they admire my accomplishments in athletics. And that’s ok. But what I want to hear more than anything is the admiration of my faith. Not because I do anything special, I can’t even come close, but because the God we serve is a God that makes himself known in a personal way—even through the difficulties.

Stand steady my friends. Stand grounded. Stand rooted. Stand firm. Persevere!

And may you be seen for your faith both in times of troubles and in rest. For the race is long, but the reward is worth it.