Run the race with perseverance

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6–8)

I still remember the first time I attempted to run a 5K. It was my freshman year at UConn, and I decided to participate in the Husky Run, an annual tradition in which the basketball team ran a 5K around campus alongside anyone else who wanted to join in. I had grown up as a three-sport athlete, alternating between soccer, basketball, and baseball with the changing seasons. I was very fast, but almost always with a ball in my hands or at my feet – and always for short distances. Still, I thought the race would be a breeze.

Being the sprinter that I was, I started out strong. But before long, I was overwhelmed with just how painfully boring it was to run long distances. Why would anyone willingly do this? I drifted farther and farther away from the front of the pack while my mind screamed at me to quit this madness.

In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul brings his final letter to a close with a couple of sports metaphors. He tells his protégé Timothy that he has “fought the good fight” and “finished the race.” These are apt analogies, as I learned that day at UConn. Both fighting and racing require endurance, both physical and mental, and so does following God. There are plenty of difficult times when we want to tap out, throw in the towel, or call it quits. This is why the call to persevere through suffering appears so often in the New Testament. For example:

Hebrews 12:1–3 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

James 1:2–4 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Romans 5:3–5 - Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

The great news for us is that, unlike when I was laboring through the Husky Run, we have the Holy Spirit working in us to encourage and empower us to run the race to the very end. As we persevere, we can hold on to Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”