READ
REFLECT
In 2019, Duke University published a study about human endurance. The primary finding of the study, which focused on runners as subjects, showed “the ultimate limit of human endurance to be 2.5 times the body’s resting metabolic rate, or 4,000 calories a day for an average person.”
During the workout, we constantly test our limits of endurance. And the days when we push the hardest, tend be the ones that aren’t sustainable. Instead of getting into a good rhythm, we might overdo it. When we don’t workout at a sustainable level, we don’t build the muscle we could or increase our strength like we want.
- Can you remember a time during the workout where you went at too hard?
But there’s an even strong endurance that makes us better competitors. That is our spiritual endurance for Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Think about that for a second. When we endure, we are setting ourselves up an “eternal glory that outweighs them all.” There are a lot of different things people glorify in the world. But when we fight through difficulties with Jesus in mind, we are working towards a reward that is better than anything out there.
Sure, in harder times, having endurance can be a challenge. But it becomes much easier when we lean on Him for that extra boost.
While we all fall short of Jesus, we can obtain stronger spiritual endurance by praying, reading His Word, and living the life He wants us to live. As we do that, the Lord pays attention and blesses us in return.
RESPOND
1. Think about how you can build your spiritual endurance.
2. Search for a blessing in the Bible that comes from enduring difficult times.
