Made for MoreSample

We are made to endure more than we ever think we can. 

Life does and will continue to throw many things our way. And often, we can feel that enduring means we must struggle through it, or grin and bear it. Rather, to endure means to suffer through something patiently and endurance is the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

Often, the idea of endurance, whether it be someone who has won an Olympic gold medal, published a book, or earned a PhD, is enticing and attractive to us. But we tend to underestimate all the challenges and struggles one must overcome to complete the race. Many of us may resolve each year to begin running. We can like and admire the idea and discipline of running or imagine it would be an impressive quality to add to our Instagram story reels. But when the rubber meets the road, it is much more difficult for us to find the wherewithal to keep going. Endurance isn't just fighting through something, but rather it is how we go about facing and overcoming life's surprises and trials.

Few stories better depict what it means to run this race, quite literally, than the historic account of the record-breaking Olympic gold medalist runner, Eric Liddell. The award-winning film, “Chariots of Fire”, shares the remarkable accounts of Liddell's athletic accomplishments and devout life of faith. 

In a sport that is often viewed as grueling and exhausting, Liddell thrived. Even when he was frequently mocked for his strange way of running—with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open—he ran with everything in him. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, the British-Scottish runner won a gold medal for the 400 metres and a bronze medal for the 200 metres.

In the film, one scene portrays Liddell in a meet in July of 1923 between Scotland, England, and Ireland at Stoke-on-Trent in England. A few strides into the race, Liddell was knocked down when he tripped over the legs of an opponent, leaving him a 30-yard deficit for the win. After a momentary hesitation, Liddell got up and continued to run. Catching up just three yards before the finish line, Liddell won, crossing the tape before he collapsed. This one event is a reflection of how Liddell lived throughout his life. Through Liddell's life and sport, he ran, but also endured to complete the race ahead of him. What made Liddell's athletic abilities so powerful wasn't only his ability to run fast, but the why and how he chose to do it. 

Liddell was quoted as saying, "Many of us are missing something in life because we are after the second best." Many of us are content with second best and we settle there because we don't want to endure. We don't want to have to face what God's best will require of us. 

Running this race was never meant to be a stroll in the park. While scripture encourages us that God will bless everything our hands touch, Jesus never promised us this life would be easy. It is for this very reason that God gives us both his Spirit and the joy of hope. 

Yet, after falling down or failing, how many of us are quick to jump back up to finish, let alone believe we can win? How quickly do you feel ready to throw in the towel? 

Liddell would often say, "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

Often we run this race seeking our pleasure. But this misses the true point of why we run this race. We run for God's glory. And when we can begin to embrace why we run, we can begin "to feel His pleasure" when we run. 

Life will present many challenges we can choose to struggle through, or we can choose to endure. We can either overlook the immeasurable power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and grin and bear it. Or we can endure this race, running for the glory of God as we allow ourselves to be filled with his Spirit.

Just as in waiting, endurance builds something in us that no other process could contribute to our emotional, mental, and spiritual faith.