Run with Perseverance

(The following is based on a message heard in Church sometime back.)

When one decides to follow Jesus, his/her whole life changes. Life can then be compared to a running race. There are many others running alongside. We're not called to fix our eyes only on the goal and somehow win the race. But we're asked to encourage one another while we run. Everyone gets a reward according to the sincerity with which s/he runs this race, the amount of progress we make, and how we've encouraged fellow-runners.

Runners

In this race, there are three kinds of runners:

1. Those who lead – Pastor, spiritual parents, ...
2. Those who are with us – brothers and sisters in the spiritual kingdom
3. Those who follow – spiritual children

Our first role model, is the perfect runner: Jesus himself! Our Pastors, spiritual parents/friends, etc. are our other role models. They challenge us to keep running. Those who are running by our side, in their own tracks, need our encouragement, as much as we need theirs. And remember that there are others starting out on this race and looking to us for support.

We need to remember the following to win this race in the most efficient manner.

1. Overcome deliberate sin

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left ...
Hebrews 10:26 (NIV)

We need to examine ourself first to identify any willful or deliberate sin. Sin disqualifies us from the race. So we cannot afford to ignore it! We are called to love the Lord our God with our whole being, and to love our neighbors (including unbelievers) as ourself. If something we do is against this calling, then it is sin. Even after realizing it, if we continue to do it, it is deliberate sin. Things like anger, unforgiveness, bitterness in heart come under sin as well. If we keep sinning, what does the Lord do about it?

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Hebrews 12:4-7 (NIV)

His strong desire for us, is that we become His Sons. Like a loving Father, He will try to correct us.

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

Being at peace with all men and holiness are linked together. If we cannot love those whom we can see, then how can we say that we love God whom we cannot see? If we come to worship God, and then remember that we have an unresolved quarrel with someone, that there is unforgiveness in heart, then we need to stop right there. God abhors the worship of the unholy. The right thing to do is to reconcile with that person first, and then come before God.

2. Spur one another

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24,25 (NIV)

This race is different from the competitive races of this world. We're not to be focused only on our running. But we're also expected to take time to encourage fellow-runners. Meeting together with fellow-runners, exchanging instances of the Lord's goodness in our lives, go a great way in strengthening our faith.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
Hebrews 10:32,33 (NIV)

Standing by those who're hard-pressed due to persecution and going through suffering is another way of encouraging each other. Don't get involved so much in the running, that fellow-runners are of little concern to us. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn.

3. Hold on to the hope

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:19-23 (NIV)

This the motivation factor for the race: our God who called us is faithful, He has redeemed us, and He will see to it that we finish this race well. So many times we are unfaithful to God. But He is still faithful. So our hope is not on our own ability to run this race, but on God's ability to help us run this race. He has done all the hard work for us. Jesus made the perfect sacrifice for our sins, made us pure and holy to stand before Him, made us worthy of Him, and intercedes for us before God the Father. Let's hold on to that motivating factor when we run this race.

In conclusion ...

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Hebrews 10:37-39 (NIV)

Whenever we fall, He lifts us up. Let's not go back to our old ways, but let's believe, run, encourage each other, trust in our Lord, and keep running ...

Great Joy

What is our usual response when faced with difficult circumstances? Irritation? Anger? Frustration? Confusion? If you answered “yes” to any of that, then you're not alone! That is the reaction that is expected of a normal person. But people who have been bought with a price, those who are called according to His purpose, are expected to be different. They are expected to have Great Joy ...

Diamonds are known for their unparalleled beauty and their toughness. There are two factors that greatly affect the making of a diamond. Pressure. Cutting.

Diamonds are just another form of Carbon. Carbon, like in the form of a decaying tree, goes through a long process, involving enormous pressure. Some of it become coal. Others, various coal-related minerals. Only a portion of it endure great pressure and transform into a diamond.

Diamonds in their raw form are not as valuable compared to the properly cut and polished form. A raw diamond needs to be cut and shaped at the hands of a master craftsman to attain its most beautiful form.

The end result of all that pressure and cutting is a beautiful diamond!

Similar to how a diamond is formed, God is forming us into beautiful ornaments for His glory. Based on the amount of pressure and pain that we can successfully endure, without losing our faith, we attain various levels of perfection in our spirit. Keeping the end result in mind, makes it much more easy to go through the pressure and pain.

James 1:2-4 (NIV): Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you maybe mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Testing of our faith. When our faith is tested through some trying circumstance, what comes out of our mouth? Praise for God? Or, is it a confused prayer, “God are you there? Why's this happening to me?” Apostle James exhorts us, to react in a different way. To consider it all as pure joy. For at the end, we would have developed perseverance. A stronger faith. Spiritual muscles. A perfect, spiritual figure.

But how do we recognize the testing of our faith and come out with the right reaction of pure joy? The key is in the very next verse. We need the wisdom of God.

James 1:5 (NIV): If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

With the wisdom of God, we will be able to rightly judge what we're going through, and put on the right attitude.

Note that this is NOT an encouragement to have a “grin-and-bear-your-burden” attitude! This is an encouragement to be active. To consciously put on an attitude of pure joy, of “rain-or-sunshine-I'll-praise-you-Lord”! For You have plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

It is not all as easy as it sounds! Without the wisdom of God, without His Spirit in us, overcoming the “natural” reaction is tough. But with Him all things are possible.

Once the attitude of great joy is put on, then how do we sustain it, when the circumstance seems to be never-ending? Stop fretting. Be still before Him. Wait patiently for Him. Allow Him to work. He will make a way, where there seems to be none. After all, He is the one who made invisible paths for all the planets and the stars in the sky. Not one of them accidentally bump into each other. If He can do that, He can surely make a way for us!

Psalms 37:5-8 (NIV): Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.

Want to be a diamond some day? Want to be a thing of beauty in His kingdom, warming His heart always? Have great joy, inspite of trying circumstances!