“Heroism is endurance for one moment more.” George F. Kennan
One of my most favorite persons in life was Joe Wolfe, my mentor. He told me once that whenever he got the urge to go jog or run, he would lay down until the urge went away. I was inspired by that. You see, I hate running. Even when I was on the wrestling team and we were supposed to go run, I would try and find ways to get out of it. I found it boring and painful. Yuck.
Running requires endurance. What is endurance? Keeping at it long after your body says enough is enough. Our mind determines what we do and not our bodies. Why would anyone do such a thing? Because we believe that the end or goal we are striving for is worth the pain. Simple as that. That is all well and good when we have a goal or positive end for which we strive…. but how do we endure when there is no long term goal… when we are simply suffering pain? How do we endure that? There are two and only two options: 1) our own strength of will or 2) a source of strength outside of us. If you are that strong minded that you can endure anything on your own with your own self-talk (e.g. the Black Knight in The Holy Grail – “It’s just a flesh-wound.”) then you are one in a million (or crazy). If you are not THAT person, you have another option. Option 2.
Col. 1:11 “...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…” God grants us endurance… literally gives us that strength when we need it, sorta like giving a long distance runner a bottle of water as they run. God can give us a bottle of endurance, actually even a whole jug of it… all we need to do is be His adopted child and ask.
The Monterey Cypress are amazing organisms. They live for hundreds of years and survive strong winds and heavy rains all while barely hanging on to a crevice in a rock. Their endurance is seen in the twisted, bent, contorted – but very strong wood.
Endurance makes us stronger for the next trials. The heartwood of our soul becomes dense and formidable against all storms. For me, I cannot rely on my own strength. I am a weenie. But God is always there for His children standing along the side of the race-path with a big jug for us.
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For His glory,
Jim