How did I get here?

We looked at Hebrews 12:1 in the Passion Translation a couple weeks ago. In the New Living Translation it says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” What does it mean to run with endurance and what does the bible mean when it talks about endurance?

In the King James Version of our verse, it uses the word patience instead of endurance and it is the Hebrew word hupomonē which, according to the Strongs definition, means constancy, endurance, steadfastness. It also means a man (person) who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. It is patient enduring and perseverance.

What a definition. I like the part about not being swerved from our deliberate purpose. This means we cannot be haphazard about life. Que sera sera. We have to be intentional about our pursuit of God. We can’t just give our lives to Jesus, cross our fingers and hope for the best. If we are to run with endurance, it means we are to run with intentional purpose. What is that purpose? To accomplish all that God has set for us to accomplish in this life so we can hear, “Well done good and faithful servant” when our race is finished. We have to be intentional about pursuing God. Otherwise, we will get swerved from our course and end up somewhere we had no intention of being.

Has that ever happened to you in life, where you seem to wake up one morning and wonder, “How did I get here?” I’ve been there. We get off course gradually but eventually we will locate ourselves and it is up to us to decide to go back to where we know we belong. Like the prodigal son. When he came to himself, that is, when he had his, “How did I get here” moment, he made a firm decision to go back to his father’s house. He was ready to endure whatever it was that would come at him as a result of that decision. He was determined.

When we have our coming to ourselves moment, we too need to be determined to pay whatever price we have to pay to get back into the place where we belong, with Jesus. Our God race is not cheap or easy. It comes at a price. God’s love is free. But living life God’s way means choosing to be separate and distinct from the world. My pastors say, “Separate not separated. We are not called to be detached or isolated from the world. We live in the world and interact with the world but we are distinct from the world. Like a boat in water.”  

Being distinct or separate is costly and it is hard. Sometimes you have to go against what comes naturally to you. It requires endurance. It requires determination. It requires a made up mind. It is one thing to have faith, it is another thing to be steadfast, patient and intentional to stick it out to the end. To have the mindset like Queen Esther, “If I die, I die.” (Esther 4:16) To be determined that you will pursue God with all you got no matter what comes your way.

The other word for endurance in the definition was steadfastness, which also means persistence. We have to be persistent in serving and following Jesus. Another word used in the definition is patient. That means if we do not see something happening, we do not quit our God race. We keep praying and we keep believing that God always does what He said He would do. Abraham waited 25 years for God’s promise for a son to come to pass. I don’t think any of us have been waiting 25 years for something. Even if we have, we don’t stop believing God.

We keep trusting that He who promised is faithful. Even on our death bed we still hold onto the promises of God because we know that even if we do not see them in this lifetime, we will certainly see them come to pass.

Our definition also included loyalty of faith and constancy. This means we are consistent in our walk with God and we are unwavering. The world around us is going crazy, but we don’t have to go crazy with it. The more constant we are, the brighter we get to shine the light of God’s word into dark places.

This is what we aim to be. Of course, there is no way we can be any of the above things without Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and to be in our ear telling us exactly what we need to do in each situation. Without God’s voice, we get lost. Tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit, but that’s a post for another day, lol.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.