Running in Faith with eyes fixed….
Hebrews 11 traces our heritage of faith; our pattern to follow; the heroes and heroines, brave souls who trusted God and walked in obedience…
Then, chapter 12 begins by telling us we have this great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, yet fix our eyes on Jesus! Only Jesus gives us the heart to continue. Have you ever grown weary, yet God’s Spirit stirs within you, and again your passion and calling seems to bubble forth. You are renewed. Jesus knows us because He is the author of our faith. He carved the faith and knows exactly how to give it life in our individual hearts.
He is the finest example, possible of perfecting faith, of bringing faith to its finest end result. He lives to reproduce this in our lives and ministries.
By now you may be thinking, well, how wonderful! She doesn’t have a clue about Mrs. So-in-so in my church. She makes life unbearable. 
Or, She has no idea of my pain, disappointment, or difficulty, or _____________ [you fill in the blank].
Oh my sweet friend, woman who serves alongside her husband in ministry, I really do know whereof I speak. There were times when I longed for a woman to lend me a hand, one who walked the path ahead of me, who would tell me things would be better. I hoped for some pattern that seemed possible for me. I yearned for a hero or heroine who bravely dared to trust God and continue walking in obedience.
What I learned was that Jesus really could be that friend in my life. I remember the day when I said aloud, “Well, Jesus never felt abandoned or forsaken.” And almost immediately the Spirit reminded me of His very words, spoken on the cross. Recognizing that He suffered in a similar way initiated healing in my heart. No, the pain never disappeared, but with His help it became bearable.
The long-haul of life requires endurance, and that is exactly what Hebrews 12:2 says, “…he endured”. He experienced pain and hardship. He exerted Himself as he learned to continue in spite of things that were unacceptable and/or disagreeable. Endure means to survive. We all face times and situations that generate fear, making us question our ability to survive. But I want you to know: He DID endure. He DID survive, and He despised the shame of those instruments of hardship. The very word endure indicates there was great difficulty and pain to overcome.
It might be interesting to make a spread-sheet comparison of things we face and endure and compare it with what Jesus endured. It might surprise you to discover the similarities. Scripture says He was made like man/us in all things, that we have a merciful and faithful advocate/priest able to come to our aid, Hebrews 2:17-18. It is no happenstance that we experience similar life challenges.
My prayer for you today is that you will see the love of God, manifest in some tangible manner to communicate He knows your name… He knows where you live… He knows your greatest need… May He bless you with His rest, found right in the midst of ministry and service. Meet me in the forum and lets make that spread sheet. Run well my sisters!!!
This reminds me of my husbands Wed night lessons on the 9 Secrets of Healthy Relationships based on Gal. 5:22-23. In order to deal with people and their issues, we have to have peace and long suffering & gentleness. A good way to help have these is to remember Jesus and what He endured. Thanks – this was an addition to his lessons.
One thing that stood out to me as I was reading this post were the words “He despised the shame…”. I’ve read that probably hundreds of times, but it hit me today that “difficult times” that come to ministers & their families often bring with them an element of “shame.” We know that shame is the signature of the enemy. I realized today that as Jesus despised the “shame” He also rejected the “shame” that the world & the enemy was placing on Him as He pressed on for the sake of the Gospel. When we are struggling to press on through difficult circumstances, we, too must choose to ignore & reject the shame & take our eyes off of what we perceive that others are thinking about us & fix them only on what Jesus thinks about us… & we need to securely rest in Him.
Thanks for the post & the encouragement…
Jennifer
This couldn’t have come at a better time! It’s so easy to get bogged down with the pressures and expectations of being the “pastor’s wife”. Thanks for the reminder of what it’s really all about. I will be re-reading this I’m sure! Thanks for the words of encouragement.
I like the phrase “endure means to survive”. You often hear the phrase “survival of the fittest”. I pray that my relationship with Jesus keeps me spiritually fit to endure the race God calls me to daily. As Paul said in Philippians….” Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Get on your knees for some spiritual exercise and press on, Sisters!!