[Monday's Devotional] - We are running a marathon not a sprint

We are running a marathon not a sprint …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. Hebrews 12: 1b-2 [ESV]   Sometimes in the Bible the path of discipleship is described as a race.  We have a whole life to live and the race is a marathon (or a series of marathons) which we need to run with endurance.  In a sprint, runners go fast but can't maintain their speed for more than a minute as they start to run out of energy.  By contrast the marathon runner keeps a steady pace, with their eye on the long term result not the top speed possible.    The vision of the podium position, seated at the right hand of the throne of God at the end of the race, is what helped Jesus to endure the cross and the shame of his execution – in the same way our view needs to be equally long term or we are unlikely to have the endurance required to reach the finishing line.   Are you running too fast, and relying on your own flagging energy reserves? Are you looking to the end of the track or the next corner? Are you focused on the prize or hitting maximum speed?   Lord, help me to run the race with endurance and to put behind me the temptation to rely on myself alone.  Amen.   Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!