Endure: Building Faith for the Long RunSample

How to run without relenting

I went through a time in my late 20s when my appetite for food was beginning to outpace my metabolism. Once I realized I had put more weight than I really wanted, I decided to join a CrossFit gym to improve my health and weight. The first day I showed up at the gym was unforgettable because the workout was brutal.

The actual workout was simple: two rounds of an 800-meter run and a 400-meter backward run. There was one important caveat: I am not a runner. I took off running, and things felt like a normal run - heavy breathing and rhythmic running which quickly turned into stinging lungs and shaking legs at the halfway point.

The last half of the workout was a blur. There were a few stops along the way to catch my breath and another few because my legs stung so badly. Once I finally reached the finish line, I plopped down onto the concrete. I was spent, but I had finished the workout with the clear understanding that I had a long way to go in my fitness when it came to endurance.

The call to endure goes far beyond our physical bodies. Scripture repeatedly describes our faith as a long-distance race, just like Hebrews 12:1-2 describes:

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.

God knows the race that lies in front of you. He knows all your inadequacies and insecurities. He knows the trials that are waiting for you that you cannot foresee. He knows all your past failures and your failures to come, and He promises to be your strength when you are broken. As Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:31:

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Do not stop running the race, even if that means going one small step at a time. It might be hard, but God has you in His hand. Do not quit. God has made you for more than fear and failure. We know it is a hard and long journey, but with God at our side, we can run the race one step at a time until we reach the finish line of faith.