Years ago, my younger brother challenged me to join him in running a marathon. He had already done one
some time before and thought it would be an adventure for us to do one together. I loved the idea, but I told him
that I couldn’t even run one mile, much less 26.2! He told me that what you do is just start with a quarter mile
each night. When you are able to do that easily, then you go to a half and then a mile and so on. It was hard
and it hurt. And the reason is that when you workout running or lifting weights, the muscles get “micro tears”
in them. And what will happen is that blood and nutrients are directed by the body to replenish and repair those
areas. But what happens to the muscle is that it gets stronger and larger. And that enables your endurance to
grow. And so, I went from trotting around one quarter of a mile…and eventually my endurance was such that I
could and did the 26.2 miles of that marathon. And our Christian lives work the same way. We sometimes
expect that when we accept Christ that it will be pretty much easy sailing from then on. Not so! James, in the
letter that he wrote, reminded us that we are going to all have troubles come our way…and when they come, we
ought to look at them as an opportunity for great joy! That sounds crazy, but he goes on to say that when our
faith is tested by trials, our endurance has a chance to grow. Endurance is needed to finish any marathon and
every Christian life. There are a lot of things that can make you decide that the race you are in is just not worth
it. It really is…and you know that, but you need to build up your spiritual endurance and strength, just as you
would your physical endurance and strength for a long road race. No one enjoys troubles when they come. We
want it all peaceful and good. But they will come and when they do, see them as an opportunity for God to
increase the strength of your faith and to grow the level of your endurance. And then you will be able to
continue to run the race well that God has put before you. So don’t let your troubles wear you down, ask God to
use them to make you strong and enduring.
Here’s our Bible verse for today…
James 1:2-3 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. (3) For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Remember I’m praying for you…
Pastor Joe
Here’s our Bible verse for today…
James 1:2-3 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. (3) For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Remember I’m praying for you…
Pastor Joe