Running Five Miles

Running Five Miles

There are some guys who look like they were built to run. I am not one of them, but Mike Bonem is. He is tall, lean, and very fast. He ran cross-country at Rice University and is still a runner to this day. Mike and I had the privilege of serving on a church staff together for a number of years, and we even wrote a book together. He is a dear friend, and I am glad we got to run part of life’s race together.

Not built to run like Mike, I go out for jogs and have even worked my way up to running four or five miles at a time. To run that far, I have to frequently take on shorter distances and build up to a longer run. As I’ve jogged, I’ve learned that I get stronger when I am consistent. When I develop endurance little by little, I’m not as fatigued at the 3.5- and 4-mile marks of my longer runs.

Don’t you wish that you could develop endurance in just a short time? But it takes time to build endurance of any sort—physically, relationally, spiritually, or financially. Further still, the truth is that we won’t make it far in this life if we don’t develop endurance in these areas.

Romans 5:3-4 states, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”

When we choose to see each day as an opportunity to build endurance, we make deposits into our future. When the longer run comes, we will need to draw on that strength and use it to see us through. Build endurance today by challenging yourself—physically, relationally, spiritually, and financially.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Romans 5:3-4