Endurance

Do you know that an Ironman Triathlon consists of a three mile swim in ocean water with hundreds of people swimming over the top of you, then a 100 mile bike ride, only to jump off your bike to run a marathon....that's right....22 miles!!! Most people don't have the ability to do 1 of those things, let alone all three in one day!! There is a time limit. The race starts at 6 in the morning and the finish line closes at midnight. The point is not to win, but just to finish. It just boggles my mind that people voluntarily sign up for such a grueling event. But they do!!
There comes a time during the race when the glamour has worn off. The excitement is gone. You are all alone in the dark. Your body hurts and you have expended all of your physical resources. Your brain is numb from the pounding of the pavement and you can't think of any good reason to keep going. Infact, the logical option is to quit. The pain and persecution would stop if you would just quit...just lay down and wait for something to come and scrap you up off the pavement.
But you keep going. Why? Because you have fixed your hope on the finish line. You are determined to finish the race because you have your eyes bolted to the One who is waiting for you . You run with endurance for the sake of hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest."
So, I am running my Ironman of life. The Christian walk is not an easy journey. It is an endurance event. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes it is painful, sometimes I just want to quit. But Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Dear God, Let me throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let me run with endurance the race marked out for me. Let me fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross."