One of my treasured friends refers to me as his running partner. No, I don’t jog with him; nor have we ever done a marathon together. But we do consider ourselves to be running a race together—“let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us” (Heb. 12:1).
Paul tells Timothy to “run away from evil things” and “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11, NLT, NASB). The Hebrew word for “pursue” means “to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after.” If you’ve been “walking” with Jesus for any length of time, you’ve learned that acquiring these qualities is no ‘stroll in the park.’ To succeed in these qualities, you have to be a runner—running toward them while you run away from their opposite.
Is God allowing you to go through hard times? Then now is a great time to pursue endurance! Don't quit. Don't give up hope. Endurance is essential if you are going to run, and finish, the race He has assigned you. And what about pursuing love? Has God joined you in some way with a person who's very hard to love? Are you tempted to run away? Don’t. Rather, run to God in prayer—ask to love that person as God does. Who said it would be easy? Does anyone really think Christian character just walks into your life one day?
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