"Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne." -Hebrews 12:1-2 HCSB
"knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." -James 1:3-4 HCSB
"knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." -James 1:3-4 HCSB
Endurance is definitely something that I'm not the greatest at and pacing is most certainly not my middle name. I'm that person that if I were to ever run in a race (disclaimer, be there and done that in first grade...it didn't end well and I may have come in last. But hey, at least I finished, right?), I would start out of the gate full speed ahead, not even thinking of the next mile I had to complete. Two minutes in I would rather be laying on the couch at home than running that mile against my will.
My first summer of working day camp here in Kentucky, I went to bed almost every night between 8-9 if I had to work at 6:00 the next morning. Two summers later, and I'm lucky if I get 5 hours of sleep the night before I have to be at work at 6 AM. I also quickly realized this summer that I started out of the gate week one with so much energy that it was ridiculous, and here we are at the end of week 3 and I'm praying Jesus will use the Cliff energy bars I eat on a daily basis to give me some real energy.
So yeah, having endurance and pacing aren't exactly my strong points.
It blows my mind when God knows these things and decides to sometimes use our weakest points to teach us some of the biggest lessons. The past six, almost seven months, have been long and hard, with lots of wandering. I was really beginning to question God about why these months have been so hard, and then these verses from Hebrews and James came into play. And then I began to really understand endurance.
Especially during the past couple of weeks, the word endurance has popped up EVERYWHERE. It started out with a sermon my pastor in Franklin (Jed) was preaching and he referred to Hebrews 12:1-2. Then one of my friends who sends out verses to us weekly sent the exact same verses from Jed's sermon, a new friend I made through World Changers brought up the same Scripture reference and the James 1 reference above, and after talking about it and reading more things with the word endurance in it, I finally started taking notice. (Sometimes I think Jesus should just drop a big neon sign from Heaven with His message so I can get it the first time around.)
The thing about endurance is that it is the result of the testing of our faith. Jesus had endurance - all the way to death on a cross. So when the writer of Hebrews says earlier in the book that "...we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are...", that even means that Jesus understands endurance. He was tempted and tested and He endured. Therefore, I can endure and "...be mature and complete, lacking nothing".
These past several months, and this summer, are a part of that test that will produce endurance. Even in the midst of this "desert" I feel like I've been in for so long, God is still using it all for my good. I love that about Him. Nothing is ever for our bad or our lacking. He longs for us to be made mature and complete, lacking absolutely nothing.
For Him, I will continue to endure. I will continue to go through this season as my faith is being tested in the "race that lies before" me. Why? Because the end result is much sweeter than anything else I could ever imagine.
