There is one constant in life—suffering. And suffering has a way of witling everything down to the basics, it strips away our wants and leaves us with our needs. When we suffer, we ask the essential questions: How do I keep going? Can I do another day? Where am I going to get the strength to make it through this?
“One foot in front of the other” is no cliché—it’s a call to courage. In a world that holds you down and resists your forward momentum, the slow shuffle ahead is nothing short of heroic. To make it in this life, we must keep moving, keep pushing, keep going. You see, endurance is not a luxury, it’s a necessity; we simply won’t make it without it.[1]
Where does endurance come from? What is it made of? How do we get it? How much can we get? How do we develop it? How do we use it? These are essential questions; one’s we need to explore together. I will frame our discussion under three categories: 1) The Source of Endurance; 2) the Guide to Endurance; 3) The Arena of Endurance.
The Source of Endurance
In a breathtaking passage of Scripture, we are guided to the fountainhead of endurance. Paul writes to the Romans, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 15:5-6).
The implications of this divine title are staggering. 1) The Triune God is the model of endurance; in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we define, understand, and behold the true meaning of endurance.[2] 2) The Triune God is the source of endurance, which means that all endurance is derived from him, gifted by him, and developed in us through his help.[3] 3) As image-bearers, we are called to reflect the God of endurance by being men and women of resilience.
The Guide to Endurance
Paul’s discussion on the source of endurance is preceded by a critical passage that speaks to the function of Scripture as it relates to endurance. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
This passage shows the connection between Scripture and endurance, which teaches a few important things. 1) As the source, God authors Scripture to provide us with endurance, it is the primary way God mediates it to us. 2) Practically speaking, endurance is worked in us through the encouragement and promises of the gospel that fuel our hope.[4] 3) Scripture is also filled with endless human examples, wisdom, and guidance for developing endurance by faith. 4) Scripture identifies things that will erode our endurance and hinder our ability to persevere.
The Training Ground of Endurance
As Scripture reveals the ways that God provides endurance to us, it identifies the main context through which this happens. Paul, the theologian of endurance, points the way again as he describes the training ground of endurance. “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
This passage contains several key observations regarding endurance. 1) Suffering is the arena; the place where endurance is produced and the context where God works it into our souls.[5] 2) Endurance is vitally connected to character; it is an essential ingredient in God’s transforming work in us and goal of making us more like Jesus. 3) Hope does not happen without endurance, you cannot remove any of the links of this chain—suffering, endurance, and character are all prerequisites of hope.[6] 4) We discern the role of the Holy Spirit, the God of endurance, as he works within us and beside us to produce all that is necessary for a hope that will never lead to shame.
How do we put one foot in front of the other? The answer, pursue the God of endurance, follow his guide for endurance, and embrace the training ground of endurance. We must recognize that endurance stands outside us in the Triune God; he grants it to us as a gift, works it out in the context of hardship, and ensures we have it on the rugged journey we walk. Fundamentally, endurance is not produced by us, it is ours by faith.[7] We must reframe our entire thinking on this concept, endurance by faith is how we truly put one foot in front of the other.
[1]“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36). “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Luke 21:19).
[2]Through the lens of human rebellion and depravity, we can see the endurance of the Father in his longsuffering and mercy, the endurance of the Son in the cross, and the endurance of the Spirit in his patient indwelling.
[3]If God is the true source of endurance, then our possession of it in any form is derivative. This must fundamentally change how we frame and view this concept.
[4]Paul captures the dynamic of gospel strength ushering in endurance: “being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11).
[5]The letters to the suffering churches in Revelation are filled with a call to “patient endurance” (Revelation 1:9, 2:2, 2:19, 3:10. 13:10, 14:12). Paul also highlights presence of endurance through afflictions: “but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities” (2 Corinthians 6:4).
[6]The author of Lamentations captures this same linkage: “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD” (Lamentations 3:18).
[7]Do we play a role in fostering it, strengthening it, growing it? Absolutely. Just like Scripture calls us to build up our faith, it calls us to grow our endurance. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). This endurance, while our responsibility, is also fostered through faith.