The marathon runner perseveres in her training in order to someday finish a race. The hesitant child presses on through eating her vegetables because she knows there is chocolate ice cream sitting in the freezer.
I have made many mistakes in life. Running a marathon without training is not a wise thing to do. Christian life is like running a race. It is more like a marathon than a sprint. We are ‘long-distance runners’ (Hebrews 12:13) It requires training, endurance and discipline ‘if we are not to grow weary and lose heart’. Nothing great was ever done without much enduring. Stay on track and keep on going
In the ancient world, athletes stripped down to a loincloth for the race. Too many clothes would hinder them. This as an analogy of getting rid not only of sin but also of other distractions and hindrances. If I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential.’The key to running the race successfully is to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus’. Where an athlete looks is key to their success. Good athletes keep their eyes fixed on the finish line.
There comes a moment for most marathon runners when they realize they will make it, because they realize their training has done what they planned—turned them into real endurance runners. When the road goes uphill, when our faith feels weak but proves strong enough, when we see the Spirit changing us bit by bit along the way, we realize: We are justified! We do have peace with God. We can and we will enjoy access to his grace! Our hope is real. This is how you rejoice even during—and perhaps especially during—times of suffering.
Perseverance is rooted in hope. We persevere when we believe that what awaits us is worth the fight. There is a race ‘marked out’ for you that you are urged to ‘run with perseverance’. Running this race is not without its difficulties and challenges. There are things that can trip you up along the way: ‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles’. Don’t get entangled. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:1–2).
The key to endurance lies in trusting God. God is with you. He is for you. He is above you. He is in you. He surrounds you. This protection is something you can rely on ‘both now, and forevermore’. The psalmist warns against turning off the track: When we wander off the path we lose our peace. Running a successful race requires training. Training is hard work; it requires discipline and can even be quite painful. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children’
“We do not lose heart.” Paul's conclusion to the Corinthians. Jesus has risen and will bring us into his presence! Our hope in Christ is secure and unshakeable. The One who awaits us in glory is well worth the fight to get there. He knows that this fight of faith is accomplishing something else of great worth along the way: the renewing of our inner self, even while our outer self is wasting away. His point is this: that suffering changes us, for the better, right now.
The only way to make ‘straight paths for your feet’ is to be looking ahead at the goal rather than looking down at your feet. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” Suffering changes our outer self—it scars; it pains; it reshapes; it breaks. Look at the outer self and you will lose heart. The road of suffering changes our inner self too, as we cling to the gospel and the Spirit goes to work. That’s where you must look.
We are not defined by our mistakes or our mishaps or how well we did in the past. Keep running the race: ‘So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV
