RUN WITH ENDURANCE
One of the most spiritually inspiring and rejuvenating passages of Scripture for followers of Christ throughout the church age, is arguably from the writer of Hebrews who said, “…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (NKJV Hebrews 12:1-2)” Doesn’t it make you want to just sell everything you own, buy a one-way ticket to the most desperate mission fields on earth, and preach the Gospel of Christ endlessly till the day you die? It is truly inspiring, and many have answered its triumphant call, but a key element within this passage, that many have missed in their fervent zeal to serve the Lord is the word, “endurance”! There was a unique race run by the ancient Greeks in their Olympic games, which has been long since forgotten. “The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. (Stowell 32)”
Christian believers, who burn in their zeal to serve the Lord, would be wise to implement a means of achieving and maintaining some level of spiritual health and vibrancy, throughout their lifetime of service to the Lord, in order to avoid the pitfalls of ministry burnout and empathy fatigue. Continuing the race is possible, sure but, “The risk of success not only involves the unholy trinity of money, sex, and power; it also includes the danger of living a religious life with no power. There is nothing quite so odious. (Hull 156)” None of us want to just limp along in our faith walk, we want to march victoriously, and serve Jesus with love and effectiveness, but how do we maintain that spiritual strength over the long-haul?
Another key element of the Hebrews passage about this race of endurance that we are running comes in the expression that we must be, “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:2)”. Not only does our power and authority come from Jesus, he is also our teacher and example if we are to finish the race with our lamps still burning. Consider that, “The Pharisees were religious but had no power. Jesus wasn’t religious, but he had all the power. Jesus had no political power; the Pharisees had nothing but political power. (Hull 157)” Certainly, this should tell us something about the things we should be striving after in ministry. Far too much of our time, effort, and spiritual vitality is spent chasing after things that Jesus never wasted a moment pursuing. His focus was single-mindedly pinned to the work of his father’s kingdom. So, rather than spending time draining away our energy on things that do not mater in the light of eternity, we must seek to incorporate life-giving disciplines into our lives that replenish us, rather than, deplete us. Simple godly things that seem obvious such as:
…reading a couple of chapters from the Scriptures [with your spouse] each night… pray together… seek to journal five days a week. …make personal applications from the Scripture… …read a proverb each day… pray together as a family… allow and encourage your children to minister with you… attend worship services together as a family. …seek to practice an attitude of prayer throughout the day. …practice to be actively involved in a men's Bible study and a couple’s fellowship and Bible study. …meet with others for the purpose of accountability, fellowship, and relationship… (Beaty 1)
All of these straightforward Christian disciplines help to restore and maintain spiritual vibrancy, but perhaps there is no greater example of regaining strength than the one that Jesus displayed to us when He, “…went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)” The very act, that we in our carnal minds would find completely exhausting, was the one act that revitalized Jesus to face another day; denying Himself and His physical needs, to seek His Father’s face for spiritual wisdom and restoration! Jesus said, “It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD. (Mat 4:4)”, and we are fools if we think that we will regain or maintain our spiritual strength in any other way.
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
Beaty, Frank. Introduction to the Leader’s Health. YouTube. Web. 04/30/2017.
Hull, Bill. The Christian Leader. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. Kindle Edition. 2016.
Stowell, Joseph. Fan The Flame. Moody Press. Chicago, IL. Print. 1986.
Holy Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN. Print. 2001.
