But we must endure. We must hang in there. Jesus is the example of what it means to run with endurance. He has gone before us into every kind of suffering we'll encounter and endured it victoriously. When you're sunk in self-pity, consider what he endured and why he was willing to endure it

We must persevere ? What is perseverance? – It is stick-to-it-tiveness, refusing to quit in spite of fatigue or pressure to do so. Endurance, means to be patience, to have long-suffering.

Most of us have moments when there are good stretches in the race, but the fact is that few of us run consistently and finish well. There are many reasons for this but here are a few:

If you're finding it difficult to stay in the race, the first thing you should check is what you're carrying. Are you carrying any excess baggage? Is it possible that you are asking God to give you more power to carry excess baggage when he is calling on you to lay aside sinful attitudes, practices and habits which you believe you can't do without, but which are in fact depleting your energy to run the race. Get rid of that excess baggage you’re carrying and stay in the race.

The devil takes advantage of us when we are weary physically, mentally and emotionally so we need to maintain a proper focus by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. When you let your mind go where it wants to go, you wind up getting distracted and pretty soon you’ll be focusing on how tired you am, how much your muscles hurt, how far you have to go, and how far ahead others are ahead of you. This always results in greater fatigue and a greater desire to quit.

There are all kinds of distractions which will grab your focus and convince you to quit if you let them. Here are a few:

CIRCUMSTANCES OVER WHICH YOU HAVE NO CONTROL
"Look how rough my situation is! No one knows what I have to put up with. And look at the people I have to put up with! No one can be expected to serve God and grow in this environment!"

FEELINGS OF DEFEAT
"I feel so defeated, so lethargic, so unmotivated. I obviously can't be expected to endure when I feel this way. God will have to change my feelings before I can go on."

PERSONAL BONDAGES AND STRONGHOLDS
"Look how messed up I am! I have been deeply damaged by wrong choices and relationships in the past. I've got deeply ingrained character weaknesses which have affected me terribly. I can't possibly be useful to God in this state; I need to drop out of the race until I am more healed."

OVERCOMING YOURSELF WITH OTHERS
"Look how far ahead they are! Look how much longer they've been running than I have! They’re so much stronger than I am. What's the use of running since I'll never be able to catch them?"

Are you focused on the wrong things? The Christian who wants to run the race with endurance has to learn how to choose and maintain proper focus. This involves not only identifying and turning away from focusing on wrong things and ourselves but also developing the habit of focusing on Christ. Focusing on Christ does not mean visualizing a picture of Him in your mind – it means looking away from everything else in order that you can concentrate on Christ alone – Concentrate on being His bride – on being submissive to Him and loving Him; concentrate on finding out what pleases Him and makes Him happy; concentrate on the words He is saying to me. [Next Page]

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