Last year, my sister-in-laws convinced me to try to run a 10K for the first time in my life. I was running a bit, but only short distances. Six miles seemed ridiculously far away. I often found myself running too fast in the beginning couple of miles, and then I was totally spent and couldn’t go further. I had to slow myself down so I could run for longer, increasing my endurance.
When race day came, it was a cold, wet November day—nothing like the nice autumn day I pictured when I signed up. We ran in the rain, got pelted by sleet, tried to dodge the ice and finished the race with frozen eyebrows and nosehairs. But we finished. There were a few times during the run that I thought I would never be able to finish, but I also realized that I was at a point that if I didn’t run to the end, I’d still have to walk to the end—there was no shortcut. And if I kept running, I’d get to a warm car and delicious brunch a little faster. The endurance I had learned in training was more essential than I ever thought it would be.
Endurance or perseverance is never something I really desire. It sounds difficult and discouraging. What I want is to get out of the hard thing. But as the verse below says, endurance refines our character which leads us back to hope. That sounds strange to me too—how does endurance end up leading us back to hope? Isn’t hope what makes us endure? No, the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit is what provides the strength for patient endurance. But He knows we need hope to keep plugging along, and He is faithful to bring us back to the bright light of hope.
There are a lot of circumstances in my life today in which I’d like to not have to learn patience endurance. I want the relenting, the victory, the freedom now. But I miss that the middle and perseverance learned there is what gives the struggle meaning.
I talk to people every day who just want a moment of peace, a pause in the seemingly constant barrage of hard stuff. And I get it. I want the same thing for them and for me. But I also see how I will never discover that peace is tied to Jesus and not to the circumstance if I don’t see past the situation to Him. When I recognize His peace right smack in the middle of the mess, I am truly free. No situation can rule me. I might have emotions about it--I might grieve the losses and beg God for change. But my peace is not dependent on there being a change.
Whatever mess you find yourself in today, will you join me in focusing simply on Jesus and His love for us that surpasses the situation? Allow the difficulty to push you past your weakness into the endless love of God who brings patience endurance, proven character and hope out of any circumstance.
Our faith guarantees us permanent access into this marvelous kindness that has given us a perfect relationship with God. What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our hope of experiencing God’s glory! But that’s not all! Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! Romans 5: 2-5 TPT