Faithful Endurance

Encounter: Find a quiet place. Take a moment to close your eyes and simply breathe. Focusing on your chest rising and falling, notice your heart and how it beats. Now shift your thoughts to God and give Him the space to speak to your heart the Words from Hebrews 12:1-4.

The word “endurance” can spark a sense of anxiety among some as it is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.

We typically reflect upon endurance with some sort of athletic sense. For example, long distance runners discipline their bodies over time to withstand the physical strain of running long distances at a desired speed. Last Saturday, Father’s Day weekend, I rode my bicycle to Fort Wayne to celebrate Father’s Day with my dad. The total miles for my ride was 39.5 miles.

I didn’t just get up and decide to ride that far on a whim. On average, I ride 10 miles a day and one long ride on a Saturday mornings over 20 miles. I do this to build up endurance to ride long distances. I have a goal to do what is called a “Century Ride.” Yes, I have this crazy desire to ride my bicycle one hundred miles. To accomplish this goal, I have to build up time on a bicycle seat for up to six hours, and build up endurance in my legs to be able to handle the stress of pedaling the distance up and down hills.

While many may think I am absolutely crazy, and maybe so, the work put in to riding this distance is the same work we must put in to strengthen our relationship with God and build endurance for the difficult times we find ourselves in.

Our 730 readings this week started by describing the faith of those before us in the Old Testament. All of them endured difficult times and by placing their faith in God, they found favor in God’s eyes. Each of them learning day by day to trust Him. They each had setbacks, but they continued to persevere through them to build up their endurance to fully rely on Him.

By the time we reach Hebrews 12, Paul begins to compare our trials against the sin we battle every day to what Jesus endured going into his crucifixion. Verses 3 - 4 state; “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

Jesus sets an example for us in that he endured so much more than we can even imagine enduring ourselves. But he did it because of his love for us and being obedient to our Father in heaven. To help us build up endurance, we must keep our eye on Jesus and put in the sweat. We are training with the Spirit to get a crown that will last forever (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

As I train my body to endure the stress of pedaling many miles, I train my heart, mind, and soul with the Spirit to endure the ups and downs of life.

In training with you,

Pastor Phil

Reflect: As I consider my goal of riding my bicycle 100 miles, I have to train my body and mind (even when I don’t feel like it) to endure the stress it will experience. The same is true as I consider how I deepen my relationship with God. My training cannot be all sweat. Rest must also be a part of my training discipline for physical, mental, and spiritual growth.

1.  In your context of life, what might God be calling upon you to help develop your faith endurance?

2. Training partners help keep me accountable for my physical training. Who might you involve in your spiritual training to help you stay fit spiritually?

3. Training requires discipline and sacrifice to build up strength and endurance. How does your “rhythm of life” support your spiritual training?

Gather - Small Group Discussion Questions:

1. What are some ways that you can train to build up endurance for your faith journey?

2. How can you support each other in your spiritual training that builds up faith for each other and for the community of believers?

3. How can failure (like injury or muscle fatigue) help in building endurance in your faith journey?

Spiritual Practice: Physical training requires us to listen to our bodies. Our bodies will tell us if a certain muscle group is being overworked and if rest is needed or a change in training to help support the muscle group. Our heart and soul also speaks through our body to help us in moments of stress.

Take a moment and breathe. Perform a body scan for any tension within the body. Now ask the body what or why a certain part of your body feels tense. Ask your heart or soul what does it need today. Maybe it needs some time of silent reflection or slow imaginative time in the Word. Perhaps the body is telling you to take a walk and scan your environment for God’s presence. Maybe it is guiding you to spend some time with someone and simply be present. What ever it may be, it starts by attuning our heart and soul with God by listening to His training whispers.