Look at the Positives in Your Struggles

“Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;” Romans 5:3 BSB

To say Saturday’s ultra marathon was a challenging one would be an understatement. Having trained in the 30 and 40 degree seasonal morning Missouri weather, I was not prepared for the heat and humidity of Mooresville, Alabama’s Blue Heron Hundred. And although I was praising God for the cloud cover He so graciously provided, a good degree of humidity was still felt, along with high winds and several pop up showers that plagued the runners throughout the entirety of the event (32 hour cutoff). Which is the very reason I wasn’t the only runner who struggled that day. In fact, every distance runner will struggle at some point but not all distance runners will look at struggles in the same light—something that was evident when I crossed the finish after 30 hours of running and stepped up to receive my hard-fought-for belt buckle. “Well I’m glad that’s over with. I finally get to sit down now,” I said jokingly to the Race Director as she passed the reward off to me. “You act like that didn’t hurt at all,” she said as she smiled at my jest. Smiling back I said, “Oh it hurt alright! But if I want to inspire others to run, I’ve learned to look at and share the positives in all my struggles.”

And, you know, when it comes to looking at the positives in every struggle to inspire others to be more like Jesus, Paul said that, as believers, we are to “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;” You see, struggles or suffering are to be welcomed and appreciated by every believer because of the persistence, determination, tenacity, steadfastness, endurance, and grit they bring about in us. These are character traits that are not only necessary for reaching the finish line of an enduring race, but are crucial to reaching the finish line of our spiritual race. And, unfortunately, these are character traits that are only gained through suffering. 

So, rejoice in your struggles today and every day my friend. Choose to thank God for the good they are producing in you and for walking with you through them. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there are blessings in all our sufferings and that we never go through them alone. Lord, help us to rejoice when we experience suffering, knowing that it gives us the perseverance to hold firm in our faith and press on when the race gets hard and we feel like giving up. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!