“Well, then you get an F.” That’s what my P.E. teacher said to me when I declared to him that I could not do the fourth lap around the track to complete the required mile. (Apparently, he was not of the “everybody’s a winner” school of thought, for which I am now thankful!) I think he knew that I could have done it, and he did not want to reward me for giving up.

That was decades ago. Somewhere around age 40, I truly started to enjoy running. That habit has helped my health in many ways, but it has also helped me identify personally with the frequent New Testament imagery of the Christian life as a race. Consider the first verses of Hebrews 12¹:

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The main emphasis of these verses is in verse 1: let us run the race with endurance. Interestingly, the Greek words translated “grow weary and lose heart” in verse 3 were used of runners who collapsed at the end of a race. Our race in this world is not yet over, and this passage teaches that we stand in danger of growing weary and losing heart before we reach the end. There are so many ways that could happen:

• Apostasy: This is a major theme in Hebrews and is the immediate context of the passage above. There are people who at one point profess to know Christ who later shrink back to destruction, showing that they never truly knew the Lord. First John 2:19 summarizes this sad reality: “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
• Moral failure: Some true believers grow weary in their pursuit of holiness, and the result is a great moral fall, bringing shame on the name of Jesus and bringing others down with them.
• Discouragement: Others “collapse” in the race because they are worn down by the afflictions of life. Relationship strains, health challenges, financial pressures, ministry disappointments, and other stresses of life in a fallen world often cause people to lose heart.
• Sinful habits: We can become weary in dealing with our own sin and end up simply refusing to deal with it. If we don’t regularly repent and go to Christ for cleansing, certain habits can form in our lives that will wear us down and cause us to grow weary in our spiritual walk.

These are all real dangers. I could add examples of each one, but instead, let us rejoice in the words of verse 3: “So that you will NOT grow weary and lose heart.” Praise the Lord, because He has provided all that is necessary so these and other dangers don’t end our race prematurely.

These three verses are a call to endure. A form of that word shows up in all three verses. Here is the opposite of growing weary and losing heart: run with endurance. What has He provided for us? By God’s grace, let us take and use His provision as found in the other phrases of these verses.

1.    Remember those who have run before you.

Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us run with endurance. These words clearly refer to Hebrews 11, to those who were faithful witnesses in their day, in circumstances as diverse as we could possibly imagine. They had their foibles and sins and quirks and failures. They all faced the same danger of growing weary and losing heart. But they were convinced of things unseen (11:1), and by faith they ran the race. They all point us to the faithfulness of God.

If you want to run with endurance the race that is set before you, here is God’s provision: Open the Bible, and remember those who have run before you. That is certainly what God intends. Of course, we can add to the names in Hebrews 11 more examples from the New Testament and now from 20 centuries of church history. Read some good biographies and journals of saints from the past! Remember those who have run before you, and God will give you endurance to run.

2.    Lay aside everything that hinders you.

Let us lay aside (literally, “laying aside” or possibly, “having laid aside”) every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. There is much debate over the exact interpretation and even about the right way to translate this phrase. Is this a specific sin? Is it something individual to each person? Is this a command or a support for the main command?

However, the central point is unmistakably clear: If you are to run with endurance, you will have to lay certain things aside. Some of those things are inherently lawful, and some of those things are sinful. Is there something lawful that distracts you in your race? It occupies your thoughts a little too much or has a dulling effect on your soul or demeanor. Lay it aside, so you can run with endurance. Or is there some sin that right now you are harboring in your heart? You are in danger! Lay it aside!

3.    Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus (12:2), let us run with endurance, for consider Him (12:3). What has God provided to enable us to endure? Remember those who have run before. Lay aside everything that hinders you. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is God’s provision for us. He is identified here as the Author and Perfecter of faith. Jesus started it all, and He will finish it all. Those who have finished the race did not finish because they were great. They finished because of Jesus. We will not endure merely by learning from people in the past (though we should!). We won’t endure merely by laying aside hindrances (though we must!). We must fix our eyes on Christ. He is the Author and Perfecter of faith.

Look at what He has done for us. He endured more than anyone else ever has. He was unjustly condemned in sham trials. He was physically beaten and shamed. He suffered the excruciating pain and humiliation of a Roman cross. There Jesus took upon Himself our sin, guilt, and shame, and He was set forth, as the propitiation for our sins. He suffered the wrath of God for us. He thought little of the shame in light of the joy set before Him. That joy certainly included what follows: He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He finished His race and had the joy of resurrection and of sitting at His Father’s right hand over all things. And He will have the joy of a multitude from every nation, praising forever the Lamb Who was slain. We endure through the One Who endured for us.

Do you want to run with endurance? Are you in danger of growing weary and losing heart? Do you need strength and patience to keep stepping forward? Do you need power in temptation? Is your faith lagging? Have you sinned? Look to Christ, and run with endurance.