Run the Race with Perseverance

We are surrounded by a vast crowd of those who had run their race for God victoriously (including all the heroes of faith in Hebrew 11). They are witnesses who watch us run in the course of our faith life. Their faithfulness is an encouragement to us. We are not the first to struggle with the problems we face. Others have run the race and won; we can, too.

We must cast aside anything that hinders our relationship with God and/or our spiritual growth. We must immediately cast aside sin upon recognition and not allow it to entangle/entrap us. We don't want these things to impede our running or knock us off course. "It is not the ship in the water but the water in the ship that sinks it. So it is not the Christian in the world but the world in the Christian that constitutes the danger. Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it." (J. Wilbur Chapman)

Let us run the race marked out for us with patient endurance (perseverance)! This "running" (Christian living) involves hard work and intentional focus. Don't give up when things get tough. Look unto Jesus, the Ultimate Example of the faith life! We must keep our eyes on Him Who is the Pioneer (Leader/Author) and Perfecter (Finisher) of our faith. We will stumble if we take our eyes off Him to stare at ourselves or at our circumstances.

One of my life verses (favorite verses): "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24) May we all be able to join Paul in saying, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)