Hebrews 12:1-2 Run With Endurance

Our great crowd of witnesses are cheering us onto the finish! This race is not a one day affair but an endurance race that lasts to the end of our days.

God set the finish line from the beginning. We were to walk with Him for all eternity. Sin got in the way of this and shortened our lives. But God made a way to restore that “eternity” to us.

I’m SO glad that our “great crowd of witnesses” were not perfect people. They were men and women who trusted God and showed great faith in Him but they stumbled in their walks too. But their names are still recorded for us because they didn’t give up. They continued until the end. Even Noah who got drunk and exposed himself in the end is still counted in that great crowd.

Why? Because GOD didn’t give up on them, or us. Our failures are the very reason Jesus had to come. If we could have made it on our own we wouldn’t have needed His substitution work. But we can’t. What we can do though is repent and return to the “race” set before us.

Jesus set the standard for us. He endured to the very end. He never gave up, no matter what the cost. His cost was HIGH but He willingly paid it. I would bet my life that the stripes and thorns held nothing in comparison to hearing Peter’s denial and experiencing His Father turning His back on Him. Yet He endured ALL of it for me!

So what can I give in return? I can give Him my heart for the rest of my life. It is not a “mighty” gift but it is all I have.

Father God, thank You again for sharing Your Son with me. Thank You Lord Jesus for willingly walking the path You chose to reach me. Thank You for allowing me to come near to You. I know I don’t walk this path perfectly and I make mistakes. I’m trying to make fewer of them each day. I want to remain Your child for the rest of my life, and into eternity. Thank You that NONE can snatch me out of Your hands. Holy Spirit, help me endure to the end. I want to finish this “race” well and hear “Well done My good and faithful servant.”