Tag:

Endurance

God’s Word for Today: Run With Endurance

by Lily Benson June 8, 2023

Run with endurance the race by fixing your eyes on Jesus. Embrace the challenge and find perseverance and strength.

What Does the Bible Say?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and 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.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Life is often likened to a race, a journey filled with ups and downs, challenges and triumphs. In the book of Hebrews, you can find an inspiring call to run with endurance the race set before you, looking to Jesus as the founder and perfecter of your faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 beautifully captures this exhortation.

Hebrews is a reminder that you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, those who have gone before you, exemplifying faith and endurance. Their stories and testimonies should encourage and inspire you, reminding you that you are not alone in your race. You stand on the shoulders of those who have overcome obstacles and walked faithfully with God. Let their lives spur you on as you press forward, their examples guiding your steps and strengthening your resolve to run with endurance.

To run the faith race with endurance, you are called to lay aside every weight and sin that entangles you. These weights can take various forms—negative mindsets, unhealthy relationships, distractions, or worldly desires that hinder your progress. As you surrender them to God, you lighten your load and free yourself to pursue the race set before you. It is a deliberate act of letting go and fixing your gaze on the eternal prize that awaits you.

You should continually fix your eyes on Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of your faith. He is your ultimate example, the one who paved the way for you through His sacrificial death and resurrection. Jesus is not only the initiator of your faith but also the one who sustains and brings it to completion. By keeping your focus on Him, you find the strength, wisdom, and guidance you need to navigate the twists and turns of your faith journey.

In Him, you can find the strength, grace, and perseverance needed to overcome obstacles and press on toward the ultimate victory. May your life be a testimony of unwavering faith, as you run with endurance the race set before you in Jesus’ name!

Endurance Is An Ability We Can All Strengthen

by Corine Channell March 19, 2020

written by Corine Channell

Pain is such a great teacher, while all at the same time being that teacher you hate. Too strong of a word? Not really. Who likes pain, even a little bit? Not me. I hate it. BUT it teaches me my most precious life lessons. I want to talk less about the actual pain itself, and more about the endurance we must find to get through it.

Endurance

Paul tells us to be content no matter what we are experiencing. Sounds easy until the pain has come to strangle the life out of you. Contentment in pain? Is that a real thing? Can I be content while my soul or body is still writhing in pain? Surprisingly, yes. It is a heart issue. No one can do it for you and maybe not even WITH you. It seems to be one of those solo journeys. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) The stillness is the key. To learn to be still in the midst of unchanging pain keeps the pain at bay. Being still is contentment and endurance wrapped in a choice. And it is a hard life lesson to just choose to BE.

God always uses everyday normal human experiences to shine forth spiritual truths. I had some pain from illness recently that was unrelenting. It would literally take my breath away and make me feel like I was going to blow apart. Funny, but I finally thought I should resort to those Lamaze breathing exercises I used to do during childbirth. I thought – hey, it can’t hurt more than it does now! So I reined myself in and started to breathe slowly and deliberately, with great resolve.

The pain did not change, but I changed. My will became greater and my soul took charge of my body. I almost can’t explain; all I know is I became still and I endured the pain. The struggle against a pain of any sort makes it so much worse. Someone who is flailing in the water in a panic trying not to go under and drown, can survive IF they calm down enough to flip over and float on their back. Sometimes life requires us to just float. Just float, and know that I am God. (Revised version)

Endurance And Focus

Endurance means: “to bear, resigned to, patience, tolerance, sufferance, acceptance, the ability to withstand hardship or adversity, to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.” The thing about endurance is that it keeps you focused and keeps you from that suffocating, debilitating panic that pulls you under its power. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

Joy is Coming

We all experience some sort of pain in our life; that is a given. It is in the hardships of this life that we become stronger human beings. It is in the long swims against the current, in the long runs on broken roads, and the long nights of weeping where the best parts of who can be will rise up. Just like butterflies are first worms in a dark cocoon, and diamonds are first clumps of coal in a dark coal mine, so are WE going to be refined into masterpiece human beings from our times spent in the dark classroom of pain. “But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities…” (2 Corinthians 6:4)

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

So let us take a deep breath and just withstand and accept and tolerate whatever it is that has a grip on us. Let us just endure.

Let us just be still, as this too SHALL pass.

March 19, 2020 0 comment

Faith

Endurance Is A Hard Life Lesson

by Corine Channell May 13, 2019

written by Corine Channell

I want to talk less about the actual pain itself, and more about the endurance we must find to get through it.

Endurance

Paul tells us to be content no matter what state we are experiencing. Sounds easy until pain has come to strangle the life out of you. Contentment in pain? Is that a real thing? Can I be content while my soul or body is still writhing in pain? Surprisingly, yes. It is a heart issue. No one can do it for you and maybe not even WITH you. Seems to be one of those solo journeys. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) The stillness is the key. To learn to be still in the midst of unchanging pain, keeps the pain at bay. Being still is contentment and endurance wrapped in a choice. And it is a hard life lesson to just choose to BE.

God always uses everyday normal human experiences to shine forth spiritual truths. I had some pain from an illness recently that was unrelenting. It would literally take my breath away and make me feel like I was going to blow apart. Funny, but I finally thought I should resort to those Lamaze breathing exercises I used to do during childbirth. I thought – hey, it can’t hurt more than it does now! So I reigned myself in and started to breathe slowly and deliberately, with great resolve. The pain did not change, but I changed. My will became greater and my soul took charge of my body. I almost can’t explain; all I know is I became still and I endured the pain. The struggle against pain of any sort makes it so much worse. Someone who is flailing in the water in a panic trying not go under and drown, can survive IF they calm down enough to flip over and float on their back. Sometime life requires us to just float. Just float, and know that I am God. (Revised version)

Joy is Coming

We all will experience some sort of pain in our life; that is a given. It is in the hardships of this life that we become stronger human beings. It is in the long swims against the current, in the long runs on broken roads, and the long nights of weeping where the best parts of who can be will rise up. Just like butterflies are first worms in a dark cocoon, and diamonds are first clumps of coal in a dark coal mine, so are WE going to be refined into masterpiece human beings from our times spent in the dark classroom of pain. “But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities…” (2 Corinthians 6:4)

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

So let us take a deep breath and just withstand and accept and tolerate whatever it is that has a grip on us. Let us just endure. Let us just be still.

#JustFloat

May 13, 2019 0 comment