Life generally is described as “like a marathon, you can’t stop, you have to keep going. Every runner particularly long-distance runner like life journey has been likened to, requires training, endurance and discipline, in order to finish, finish well and not make ship wreck of their race. We have the promise of heaven to back us up in the journey of life but we have a part to play. We need to:
* stay on track and keep running
* run the race with perseverance.
STAY ON TRACK AND KEEP RUNNING – Ps 125: 1-5
Continuous effort (not strength or intelligence) is the key to unlocking your potential ~Winston Churchill.
Greatness in the kingdom is birthed on the platform of endurance.
The Psalmist points us to the fact that the key to endurance lies in trusting God. This is not based on wishful thinking, but on the character and protection of the God in whom we trust. He is ever there for, above and around you. His support is something you can rely on ‘both now, and forevermore’.
The psalmist warns against turning off the track: ‘Those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers’. When we wander off the path we lose our peace. The psalmist’s prayer is, ‘peace be upon Israel’.
RUN THE RACE WITH PERSEVERANCE – Hebrews 12:1- 13
There is a race ‘marked out’ for you that you are urged to ‘run with perseverance’. In this race, you have great encouragement. You are ‘surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses of men and women of faith. They blazed the trail by reason of faith and are still alive although dead by reason of their testimonies
Running this race is not without its difficulties and challenges. There are things that can trip us up along the way. We have to ‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles’.
The key to running the race successfully is to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus’. Good athletes keep their eyes fixed on the finish line. Jesus is ‘the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (v.2). The key to your endurance is to ‘consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart’.
Jesus ‘never lost sight of where he was headed and He by so doing is urging every believer to look ahead at the goal rather than looking down at your situation. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Running a successful race requires training. Training is hard work; it requires discipline and can even be quite painful.
Keep running the race: ‘So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! And you will be surprised the extent success that will come your way.