Perseverance: When the Finish Isn’t in Sight (Hebrews 12:1-3)
About a year ago I ran my first ever official race and I didn't mess around. I decided if I was going to do a race, I might as well start with a marathon.
I trained for a year, and worked hard to get to a point where I felt as if I could finish the race. And I remember the day extremely well for a variety of reasons.
I remember as I started the race I felt great. I kept my pace extremely well and the energy was high, thousands of people were cheering us on.
I also remember the end extremely well, As I came into the last mile there were tons of people and the closer I got to the finish the more people I saw, and then when I was about 100 yards from the finish line they screamed my name over the PA system.
You better believe that I was sprinting through the finish-line.
However, the hardest part was around mile 10 when the crowds of people became more scarce and no one was around.
It was just me and others running this race. And then at about mile 13 is when I try to suppress this story, because at around mile 13 the story doesn’t get fun to talk about.
When I got to mile 13 Iroquois Park came into play.
When I hit this park it got really steep really quickly, and I didn’t fully prepare for that, and I started cramping up, really badly.
I was only half way and I could barely walk, as I continued I started yelling and stretching and what happened next is the embarrassing part.
This women offered these random salt pills and told me to take one every 45 minutes to help me retain water…. I took random pills, from some random women. That's how much pain I was in and they didn’t work.
I had people running the race that offered me to run with them, I couldn't keep up with them. Every other step was hindered by a cramp in my legs.
Others offered me words of encouragement.
One group of people even prayed for me, while they were praying for me, I started cramping up mid-prayer and I had to let them go.
I cried for the next 13 miles as I limped and jogged the second half of the race. I was disappointed in myself and to be honest it was really painful.
That wasn’t easy, however when I saw the end, I forgot about all my pain and my circumstances and finished strong.
I often ask myself what was it that helped me get through the last stretch when the end wasn’t in sight.
I love reading about people in the Bible that finished ministry strong, or finished a task extremely well, because that is how I hope to finish.
I love reading about Paul in the New Testament, see what he writes to Timothy at the end of his life.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
This wasn’t the first time that Paul had made the comparison of his life being a race in Acts 20 Paul addresses the elders of the church in Ephesus. Saying in Acts 20:24
Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 “Life is a race”
As I was preparing for this blog I thought to myself I haven't ran many official races in my life. However, in my experience the beginning and the end are the easiest and most fun to talk about.
I think the same is true for a lot of us. If we equate our lives as one big race and little mini-races somewhere in-between we’re all somewhere.
Maybe you just got done with a great conference or really connected with a scripture that you read or heard. Maybe you feel like you’re about to start on a new journey and you’re really excited and eager to begin this new season.
This won’t be what this blog is about. Today I want to talk about how to preserve when the end isn’t in sight.
I think there are three trues that we can hold onto when we’re in the what I call the Dog Days. When life gets really hard, and the end isn’t in sight.
I think the author of Hebrews does a good job of giving us practical steps to get through this.
Hebrews 12:1-3
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
There are three things that I want to pull from this section:
1. Surround yourself with other believers. (Hebrews 12:1)
I could talk all day about community about why it’s so important, but God said in Genesis 2:18 that we were not created to be alone.
Going back to my marathon, when I started cramping up, and stopping to stretch I was encouraged by others, “Don’t stop!” “Keep going!” “You’ve got this.”
I was offered salt capsules to help with the cramping. In the same way, we are made for community.
We ought to spur each other on, challenge one another by asking each other difficult questions, and always trying to encourage one another.
It says in Ephesians 4:29 that we should only lift others up:
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
2. Throw off and Put on. (Hebrews 12:1)
I love that the author of Hebrews starts off this chapter by saying since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. Meaning there’s an expectation we ought to be around others. But the word witness is used here:
A witness is someone who sees or knows of an event. That means that we must share with others in order to have true community.
James 5:16
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
I know I was trying to throw off everything that was hindering me from moving forward. I could have lied when someone asked me if I was cramping and then no one would have been able to help me, but as soon as I told people what was going on they were able to help the problem.
The same is true in our daily life, we ought to be vulnerable enough with others to confess out sins so that we might be able to get help.
We should also give our burdens to Jesus. I really love what Mathew says about this.
Mathew 11:28-32
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
This takes something from us, we must come to him, so when we throw off our yoke of sin we must put on Jesus’ yoke that is grace and forgiveness.
Throw off and Put on.
3. Fixing our eyes on the eternal (Hebrews 12:2-3)
One way to fix our eyes on the eternal is by Not Running Aimlessly (1 Corinthians 9:24-26)
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
When I was running my marathon I was just running my race to complete a task, and I was a long way away from getting a prize, put Paul says that we must run for something that is worth more than ourselves.
Verse 26, 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
It’s important to know why we're here on Earth, and that is to bring God glory. Our mission is to Love God and Love Others, that’s why we're here.
Sometimes when we are in the middle of the race and things aren’t going so well it’s easy to forget why we’re here. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 12:12
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Those are three great things to live by.
Paul and Barnabas knew the importance of fixing eyes on Jesus and they even expected hardship,
Acts 14:22
22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said
Hardships are coming, and for some of you, you’re in the hardship or have just gotten out. The best thing that we can do to make sure to endure in hardship is by abiding by Hebrews 12:1-3
We must surround ourselves with Godly community, confessing to them what’s going on, what’s hard about life in this season. The next is try everything you can to remove the sins in your life that way you can run freely. And lastly fixing our eyes on the eternal, know that hardships will come, but know that this life is a temporary home.
I like to give challenges whenever I share my thoughts, and I think my challenge to you is this:
What is one thing that I can do to reorient my life to Jesus Christ this week? So that we are not running aimlessly.
