Hebrews 12: Run With Endurance
What comes to mind when you think about the word endurance? Maybe you think of a particular challenge or life circumstance you currently find yourself in. Or maybe you think about a hard workout or a long run. What about the word discipline? Maybe you think of a time you disciplined your child this week. Or maybe you think of a military lineup of soldiers or top-level athletes training and working to be disciplined in their respective fields. Whatever these words bring to mind for us, neither endurance nor discipline sound particularly easy.
Endurance coincides with concepts like challenge or difficulty, pushing through, or pressing on. Endurance also suggests a process - it will take a little time, however long that may be. Discipline too is a process of refining, correcting, training, and pruning, and it can be uncomfortable and even unpleasant.
Hebrews 12 speaks especially to these topics of endurance and discipline. In some ways, these are ongoing themes in our lives. No matter the life stage we find ourselves in, there is likely something to endure, and there may also be ways that God is disciplining us. And since these concepts apply to all of us in our walks of faith, we want to understand what God says about them.
So we see from the very beginning of Hebrews 12, starting in verse 1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” We are told to lay aside every weight and sin, and to run with endurance the race set before us. We’re not just to run, but to run with endurance. We’re told to endure.
And then in verse 7 we read:
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons and daughters. For what child is there whom their father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons and daughters. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
God has great purpose in our endurance and our discipline. Though it seems painful rather than pleasant, our Father in heaven disciplines us for our good. And He does so in order that we may share His holiness. How amazing it is that God would allow us to share in His holiness and shape us to be like Him! There is fruit that comes from discipline and endurance, and the fruit is righteousness and peace. There is a great reward to be had for us.
We hear similar language in James 1 verses 2-4, which says:
“Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James is telling us to endure. He says that this endurance will actually produce something in us (steadfastness), and that this will lead to an even greater end outcome - ultimately our faith will be made perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Is this not what we want? As women filled with the Spirit of God, our deepest desire is to be made like him, to share His holiness, and to have our faith perfected and completed, lacking in nothing.
When we view it in this way, we can see that even in the midst of trials, or when discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, God is working all things together for our good. He displays His love to us by faithfully shaping us to share in His holiness. We are His daughters whom He lovingly disciplines. And there is a great reward to be had in enduring.
This is essential for us to believe. Because we will face trials in this broken, fallen, sinful world. And God will continue to prune sin out of us through loving discipline. But when this feels hard, what will our heart’s response be? Too often when things feel difficult, we’re tempted to feel discouraged, or to doubt God’s goodness towards us. We can become weary and fainthearted. But verse 3 of Hebrews 12 says, “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
There seems to be a difference between tired and weary. Or even between heavy-hearted and fainthearted. Weary and fainthearted have a sense of defeat to them. But, as verse 3 tells us, we are not to grow weary or fainthearted. And to keep from this, we are told to consider Him. We are to look to Jesus. And what do we see when we look to Him? Let’s read verses 1-2 again:
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus endured the cross. He didn’t have to, but chose to. And Jesus despised the shame - He did not like it, and it did not feel good. He suffered. He understands what it’s like to suffer - as Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize in our weakness, but one who in every way has been tempted as we are.” And in verse 4 of chapter 12, we’re told “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” But Jesus has. He did shed His blood. And the question is why? We see the answer in verse 1, “For the joy set before him…” There was joy set before Jesus, and the joy was worth enduring the suffering. He knew this and believed this, and so He endured.
Just as there was joy set before for Jesus, there is joy set before us. This process of enduring and discipline leads to our joy. There’s joy in being made holy. There is joy in our faith being perfected. There is joy in being daughters of God. We too are to know and believe this, so that we too may endure.
And there’s more. Not only did Jesus endure, but He won. The end of verse 2 says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Verse 12 tells us, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet.” We are strengthened, not weary. Our hearts are lifted up, not faint. We are not defeated - Jesus is seated on the throne! Our outcome is sure in Him. We do not need to lose heart, in fact Jesus tells us to take heart, because He has overcome the world. So let’s look to Jesus, and let’s consider Him, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. And let this lead us to run our race with endurance, knowing that it is for our good and for our joy.