I have never run a marathon, so during a recent sermon I had one of our staff pastors who has run a marathon come up on the platform and describe some of the work and training that goes into running a marathon. One of the big keys to successfully completing the training, and then completing the marathon itself, is persistence. There will be many times when you feel like quitting. However, if you quit, you will not finish.

The same is true in the Christian race. Faith heroes need to be persistent and not give up. We are in a long race, and it takes patience, endurance, and persistence. The successful person isn’t always the smartest or the one who happens to have the most luck; it is the person that just doesn’t quit.

We need to learn that lesson from the marathon runner and determine to not let anything get in our way or keep us from serving the Lord. We need to be people of persistence if we are going to be faith heroes. When you get tired or discouraged, think of all the people who have finished their race. Not all of them finished well; in fact, some of them finished badly. No matter where you are in your Christian race – mile 1, mile 13, or maybe you are coming around the bend to mile 26 – don’t quit! Persevere and finish well, so that you may hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”