I am not a runner. I will take a bike over running every time, but I appreciate the effort and determination of those that love to punish themselves by running marathons. It is astonishing that anyone can run the full marathon distance in a little over two hours. Far more interesting are the stories of those that run the distance in some unlikely costume (every year, a number of people run the London marathon in full rhino suits!), run to raise money for a worthy cause or just keep going against all the odds even if they are the last runner home. When they battle through to the finish, it is somehow a greater achievement than the fastest time.
The Christian life, a life following Jesus, is definitely not a sprint. It is much more like a marathon. This verse from the book of Hebrews probably comes to mind:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Heb. 12:1-2).
In our Christian lives, seeking to be faithful to Christ, we need to run ‘with perseverance’. Pressing on in this race is something that every runner needs to think about. If you are just starting, you need to be prepared for the race ahead if you are to keep going. If you are in the middle of the race or nearing the end, the challenges will be different but perseverance is needed to keep going. Pressing on in our Christian lives is not something to be complacent about if we are to run well.
Serving God faithfully
The Scriptures have some great examples to help us not to give up. Daniel is one of the young Israelites taken captive by the Babylonian empire under King Nebuchadnezzar. He is probably in his early teens when he is taken to serve the king along with other boys like him. Yet at the very beginning of their time in Babylon, we see that Daniel and his friends are God’s people and committed to be so, no matter what happens to them:
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way (Dan. 1:8).
Daniel and his friends resolved to be holy and to express it over this issue of the food and God blessed their faithfulness to him. As the book goes on with all the drama that follows, you can see clearly that those good foundations at the beginning bore fruit in the faithful lives of these young men. Have another read of the first six chapters of Daniel, they really are amazing! By the time you get to chapter six and the famous story of the lion’s den, Daniel is an old man. He has watched kings come and go and has served God and the king faithfully.
The thing that is most striking about Daniel’s stand for God in chapter six is not so much his courage, but his dogged faithfulness. He had set the habit early on in his walk with God and now, even when his life is threatened, he is unflinching:
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before (Dan. 6:10).
Those words ‘just as he had done before’ are important. I think he could have reasoned his way out of this tight spot. Maybe keep the windows closed for the next month, maybe pray in a different way so as not to break this foolish new law to pray to no-one but the king. Yet Daniel refused to compromise his faith. In his commentary, Dale Ralph Davis writes, ‘So we see with Daniel: consistency assists courage, and discipline feeds faithfulness. In the crisis Daniel’s habit set him free to be faithful.’
Trusting day-by-day
What was the secret of Daniel’s faithfulness then? How did he keep going all those years? How did he resist the temptation to compromise his faith for his own comfort? It was day-by-day faithfulness to God in the normal, mundane, ordinary things. It was a habit he set early on when the stakes were not so high and it stood him in good stead much later on in his life. He prayed, he knew his Bible (Dan. 9), he lived faithfully, he bore patiently with opposition because of his faith and he trusted God in all things.
We see this same kind of example in others in the Bible who pressed on even when life was hard. Think of Joseph’s faithfulness as a slave, even when in prison. It is the day-by-day trust that Israel were to learn during their time in the wilderness, trusting God every day for the manna to feed them, and in which they often failed. It is the day-by-day faithfulness we are to learn when we pray as the Lord taught us, ‘Give us today our daily bread’ (Matt. 6:11). In that great prayer it is implied that we pray not just for our daily bread, but for all our other needs. A daily communion with God is necessary.
Fix your eyes on Jesus
Let’s return to Hebrews chapter 12. Here’s how the writer to the Hebrews encourages us to run our race with perseverance, even when we suffer in the race:
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Heb. 12:2-3).
Runners who spend all their time looking around, looking at others or looking at themselves generally don’t run well. It is runners who keep their eyes on the goal, the end of the race, who run well. So it is with us. We fix our eyes on Jesus, our champion, our example, our Saviour, and ultimately, the prize for which we run.
It is he who has called us into this race and he will certainly keep us until the end. The race will be hard at times, but the prize will make it all worthwhile. Let me finish with these words from James:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything… Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (Jas. 1:2-4, 12).