Facing our Struggles: Endurance makes it Possible

Recently I have been trying to jog at least once a week.  In my attempt to both improve upon injury and get back into physical shape I have discovered how weak I really am.

It`s a true saying:  You never know until you try.

So each week I turn on some tunes and get the legs going and see how long it will take me to get to my destination.  The heat of summer doesn`t make it easy, plus the pain sometimes gets to me, but I am happy every time I can reach that goal.

Every step, especially near the end, is a grind and I feel like perhaps I should just walk the rest of the way, but mentally as well as physically, I know I need to practice endurance.

Endurance helps us hold on till we get to that finish line, or that goal.  It is part of the formula of success.  Not financial success necessarily, but success in life. 

It doesn`t matter how talented you are, or how great things have gone, every person hits their limit.  I am reminded of famous actors, sports players, or politicians that failed to endure and ended up in very bad places.

The Bible speaks about endurance very often, especially in the Epistles to the early Church, who was facing horrid persecution in some areas and cultural integration difficulties in others. 

To have endured through tough times is considered a true blessing.  This is because any person can go through a happy time in their life without knowing the quality of who they are, or have a need to improve themselves, or a need to rely on the grace of God.

Consider James 5:11

It is a reminder to me that endurance is what gets us to the destination...not our talents or abilities, or luck, or connections..."just don`t stop"  That is what God says to us and He will do the rest.

It certainly gives mixed feelings doesn`t it?...but there is comfort in our trials when we think to ourselves:

We will endure, as we trust in God, who was, is and will always be.