Marathon:

“A long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles, or 26 miles 385 yards),usually run as a road race.”

(source: wikipedia)

Living the life of a Christian is like a long-distance run. Endurance is necessary to overcome every obstacle, including our own fatigue. God provides abundant assistance in this marathon—fellow runners, water, sustenance, solid shoes and some nice things to look at from time to time, but it is incumbent on us to hold up our end. We have to keep running.

My last two posts—Overcome or overcomer? and What is your ‘Why’?—have discussed both purpose and endurance. I see people everywhere fighting to stay positive, struggling to find purposes, and drowning in physical battles. We need to encourage each other to stick close to Christ, pressing on towards the ultimate goal.

I have searched for passages that talk about endurance, refreshing, persevering, etcetera and I came up with 26 passages in honor of the official distance of a marathon. (Okay, I missed the 0.2, but I’m not big on partial verses.) Whenever we traverse through a challenge, be it physical or spiritual, it’s a good practice to seek aid through the scriptures, copy down verses that encourage, and meditate on God’s promises to us. Feeling alone? Seek verses about God’s presence. Feeling sad? Look for verses on God’s comfort. Commit those passages to memory and roll them over in your mind. In so doing, you will be centering your heart on those things that are true, noble, praiseworthy etcetera.

If you or someone you know is struggling right now, download the PDF and spend the next 26 days copying down and meditating on the above passages. Send the verse to someone you know in a card, text or email. Let’s encourage one another to keep on toward the goal. I will post one verse per day on the Elihu’s Corner Facebook Page and on the Twitter Feed beginning tomorrow.

Download the above picture or print out this free PDF  and join me for 26 days of encouragement.