Perseverance

Persevere, the words echoed in my head as I began to sprint the first lap. I was back on my daily running routine. It consists of about 2 ½ miles, separated by 3 different laps. I started the routine about a month ago. I went solidly for 2 weeks, but then I slowly drifted away. But now two weeks after the stop, I was running again. I use a very simple system. I exert all of my extra energy when sprinting the first lap. The second lap I take to recharge. I push myself, but not to a point of overexertion. The third Lap kills. I run for the finish. Most of my energy reserve has been depleted, and I am coming up empty. This lap is not run with my body. I block out the messages it is sending to me. I push myself, forget the pain, and persevere. Success is finally achieved when I reach the finish line. Accomplishment floods my brain. I have not just succeeded, or strengthened my body. I have won my own personal race.

Persevering is what strengthens our faith. In my story, the first lap is easy. Likewise, your faith doesn’t achieve much unless it is tested. But on the third lap, or the point where you have to push yourself, that is the when you choose whether to make or break it. When my body ached so bad that I thought I couldn’t make it, I could have easily given in and quit. But the fact that I choose to persevere kept my body working hard, and my body gain muscle because of it. When your life is easy, it is also easy to believe in God. But when your life is falling apart it is hard to endure. You can never truly know the strength of your faith until it has been pushed to its breaking point.

James 1:2-4 says “Consider it joy my brethren, when you have encounter trials, for the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Perseverance is what gets us through life. We can not run a race, do our quiet time, or even write a paper for school unless we persevere. But how do we gain this life skill? The Bible tells us that the only way to develop perseverance is through the testing of our faith. Just like homework helps us grow in knowledge, trials help us grow in perseverance. George Van Valkenburg, a famous businessman of our time once said, “Accomplishment and success are often the result of commitment and perseverance rather than skill or talent.” Or in other words, you are more likely to succeed in life as a result of perseverance rather than talent. I once heard the same thing but stated like this, “I was not better than most guys out there, but I pushed myself harder than they did, and eventually I began to beat them.” To succeed as a Christian, we have to push ourselves harder and perform better than what is expected from the average person. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must persevere even in the hardest of trials so that we can always finish the race a bigger and stronger Christian.