Persevering

A vehicle needs a road to travel on; otherwise, it will stall or get stuck. Likewise, a person needs a roadmap—a purpose—to get up and go forward each day. Discouragement is like the mud that traps a car’s traction. Discouragement can come in many forms, such as when things don’t turn out the way we hoped. This is what happened to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ death. They expressed their discouragement in these words: “But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place” (Luke 24:21). The danger with discouragement is that it makes us want to give up.

The truth about discouragement is that it shows us only part of the picture. If we could see the whole picture, we would feel different. In fact, that is precisely what Jesus does with these two disciples when he comes alongside them as an unrecognized stranger to explain the big picture: “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

Learning to persevere is not easy, but God expects us to do it. This is what he said to Jeremiah: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5-6).

God was saying to Jeremiah, “If you can’t handle this, Jeremiah, how do you expect me to entrust you with the great things I have planned for you?” It was a simple illustration, but it communicates volumes to all of us. If you have run in a foot race, Jeremiah, and are exhausted, how do you expect to run with horses? If you stumble on the open flat ground, how do you expect to climb the mountains?

Have you developed a habit of complaining rather than trusting God with your problems? Have you fallen into the habit of seeking sympathy rather than facing the challenges God sends your way? Do you let the little things in life discourage you, preventing you from seeing the big picture? If you complain about the simple routine God has given you, how do you expect Him to provide you with more important tasks? God says, “There is no jumping ship, Jeremiah, just because you feel discouraged. There is no giving up—because I will see you through, but you have to persevere.”

Roots

We have growing on the banks of a creek, near our church, the common water reed. The stream is full of these reeds that thrive in mud and mire. They won’t grow anywhere else. If the ground dries up, they die. The flexible reeds bend with every wind coming their way. When the creek is high, the current pushes the reeds entirely flat. They owe their existence to the mire and depend upon their present circumstances to survive. Any change, any less moisture, and they cease to exist.

How many people are there like these reeds? They are happy and flourishing as long as they have what they want. All their joy is derived from their present circumstances. However, let a drought of happiness or relationships come their way, and they die emotionally and spiritually. They know little of the strength of living through the seasons of life. Because they live in a state of unrealistic expectations, they are often disappointed. They feel institutions fail them, and they blame people for their failures. The people and circumstances around them so influence them that they don’t know how to stand alone. They know so very little about putting down deep roots so their souls can be sustained by something besides the surface water that is so polluted and seasonal.

Putting roots down is hard, boring work. You have to stay still and stay put! You can’t change jobs, partners, or friendships whenever you feel unhappy. You can’t judge people by some unrealistic standard with no forgiveness. You have to accept that these are people in my life, my wife, my husband, and my friends. I have to make this work, so I will figure out how to do that. That is called putting down roots. Relationships grow through adversity.

The relationships in your life will begin to yield fruit if you put down roots. Letting your roots grow deep allows them to bring up nutrients and moisture that don’t exist on the surface. What comes up from the deep roots will be life-sustaining strength. It will allow you to develop an identity that will not be swayed by the winds of opinion or pushed over by the current of public pressure. Come drought or high water, and you will still be standing.

Run the Race

In the book of Hebrews, the author gives us a Hall of Faith chapter (Heb 11:1-40)). What a list of inspiring people is presented in this chapter. Each lived a faithful life and finished well. In the following chapter, he uses the analogy of a race to help us prepare for the most critical race we will ever run. Those who have already run this race are cheering for us from the stands. Then, in the first three verses, he tells us how to run this race.

First, strip away any sin in our lives that entangles us. That is an apt description of all sin because it trips us up. We are encouraged to tear those sins away in preparation for running the race the way a runner would strip away his outer clothing. Not all sin is as ensnaring to each of us because we are more vulnerable to certain sins. It is precisely those sins we must be aware of and strip them away so we can run the race.

Secondly, strip away the hindrances. These hindrances may not be a sin, but if they hold us back from running, they are deadly.  It could be a relationship, a habit, or even an enjoyment. If it slows us down or causes us to drop out of the race of life—then it is a bad thing.

Thirdly, run the race with perseverance. This race is not a sprint—it is a grueling marathon! It’s the runners who know how to pace themselves and keep plodding who finish the race. The race we run is never a straight line with shade trees and places of oasis along every mile. Some of us encounter barren stretches. Some climb mountains while others prod plains, but to each is our race. Our job is to run the race that is marked out for each of us.

Fourthly, focus on Jesus. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus grew tired and got hungry but never stopped running his race. We are commanded to run the race looking at him and run the way he did. We need a model to show us how to do it, and Jesus is that example. The writer says to consider Jesus’ attitude and how he responded to mean and sinful men when they did terrible things to him. Jesus looked at the joy set before him because this helped him to set aside the humiliation of enduring the shame of the cross.

I remember how the task of teaching my daughter, Carin, to ride a bike was not the easiest task in the world. She would do all right as long as she knew my hand was on the back of the bike. If she ever looked back and saw that I had taken my hand off or that I had stopped running behind her, she would tumble over. We had so many crashes because of that. After many tries, I decided to get her started and run ahead of her so that she would follow me, and it worked. The results were immediate. I became her goal on which she could focus, and in so doing, she was able to keep her balance. This is how we are to run the race—looking at Jesus every step of the way.