Having the Faith to Start

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” ...Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ...So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. - Matthew 26:36-39,42,44

Usually, whenever someone talks about running, they either talk about speed or endurance.  Those are both admiral qualities to have.  Personally, I love talking about endurance.  It's pretty amazing to consider what the human body is capable of when someone has the will to endure.  Whether it's in a race or through challenges in life, sticktoitiveness is an inspiring thing. It's one thing to endure through hardships as they come your way.  It's a whole other thing to actually consciously start something you know is going to be long, hard, and challenging.

Two times in my life I have stood at the start of a marathon, knowing full-well the hours of challenge and "suffering" that were ahead of me... wondering to myself, "Why in the world did you sign up for this?"  Most people out there would call that crazy.  Why would anyone in their right mind knowingly submit themselves to four hours of non-stop gruel? Starting a long and rigerous race can be a scary thing to do... akin to jumping out of an airplane when sky diving.  Everything in your body is screaming, "Don't do it!" but you know in your heart-of-hearts that you have to... so you do it.  You commit yourself, and you go.

What is it that helps you overcome that fear of starting?  For me, my fear in taking on a marathon is the fear of failure... the fear of not finishing... the fear of not being able to endure till the end.  I'm not as concerned about the suffering, because suffering is temporary and has an end. I'm more concerned about the label of DNF (did not finish) being stuck to my name.  The thing that gives me the boldness to start is the assurance that I can endure.  It's that intangible thing called faith.  In running, it may be faith in my training... faith in my fitness... faith in my experience... faith in those who have guided my training and given me the insight I need to endure.  But more than faith in the things that I've done or others have done for me, the driving force that keeps me moving forward - that has me start down trepedacious paths when everything in me tells me not to, is faith in the One who calls me to start in the first place.  The apostle Paul wrote this while imprisoned for his walk of faith:

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Philippians 1:6

This is what the writer of Hebrews said:

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." Hebrews 12:2-4

Back to the scripture that I started this post off with: Jesus knew full-well what He was about to go through.  Not only was He about to be ridiculed and tortured to death, He was about to have the cup of God's wrath toward sin poured out on Him.  Everything in His human body was telling Him not to do it... but He knew that He had to... and He did.  And now, because He did... and did not fail, we can too.  The things that God calls us to are possible in Him.  Now, don't get me wrong... we can't just start out on a crazy idea and hope that God will bless us in it.  But if God is truly calling you to step out and do something... to become a one-income family so that you can raise your kids well... to start a business venture that you really aren't qualified for... to care for a sick relative... to move into a crime-ridden part of the inner city to minister to homeless people... to pray for a blind man to receive his sight - If God is calling you to do it, then if you do it in His grace, He will be faithful to complete it.  You don't have to worry about failure... you just have to walk (or run) in faith.

Before we can run the race, we have to actually begin.  You can't run a marathon by just standing at the starting line.  We can do it in Him.  Let's have the faith to start.