Stephanie shares her wisdom and practical tips to help you press on in your training plan.
If you’ve ever said to yourself that you were going to train for an endurance event (running, biking, swimming, anything!), you started training, all ready and full of hope only to feel like you’re ready to quit after the first 5 minutes, you are the exact person I want to talk to.
Don’t get me wrong, you’re probably also the person who finished that 5k and even ran an extra mile for good measure, but physical strength or ability is not what I’m referring to.
I know you can DO it. So do you…deep down.
“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better…” and perseverance, the ability to endure has benefits in this life and the next!
What I am referring to, though, is that voice in your head that you had to beat to hit your target and sometimes keeps you from even trying, forgetting what your good body can do.
Do you know what voice I mean?
It is the voice that says, “You can’t do this anymore. You did it once, but that was then.”
It tells you, you don’t have what it takes to do this. “You’re just too (fill in the blank).”
It gets in your ear on a winter night or on a rainy day or a time when you’re too discouraged to get out of bed, with a scratchy and shrill voice straight out of a horror film, it says, “What’s the point? This is not important. You’re too tired. You don’t have time.”
And just like that, you’re sitting this one out. One time equals two and then three, before you know it, you haven’t moved in a month.
Endurance requires commitment
Endurance requires commitment, and you can’t rely on your feelings to help you be consistent. In fact, your feelings may push you closer to the couch instead of the things that require effort.
As a big feeler also, I am intentional to GET MOVING BEFORE I feel like I want to move rather than letting the sluggish or defeated feeling OVERTAKE me, immobilizing me. God once spoke to me in the voice of Nike: Just do it.
Hey, hear me. I am not saying you should go for a run when you’re injured. Certainly not. I don’t recommend swimming that extra lap when you’ve not seen your family in weeks and haven’t had a decent meal. What I mean is, those voices will convince you to stop even if there is no good reason. If you let those voices have the final say over and over again, your body, mind, and spirit will suffer.
So endurance training is not only for your body, but for your mind and heart also.
As you train your body for greater distances, your mind will have to undergo training to keep going in faith and goodness even when things are difficult. Renew your mind by practicing over and over again that which is good, true, and noble. Paul, a leader in the early Christian church, in a letter to the church in Philippi, encouraged the people with this:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Do you know what is worthy of praise? When you humble yourself and join that running group and make a friend. You will be surprised how much farther you can go when you have a group that is with you, even if you are the slowest one!
Do you know what is excellent? When you hydrate and eat a meal that fuels your activity.
Do you know what’s admirable? When you set a goal, tell others your goal, and then you do what you said you would do. You will want to quit without anyone knowing. That’s why you should tell them. It’s important to commit to doing what you planned in advance.
Let yourself experience and embody this truth: That the one who is in you is greater than he that is in the world. That same one infuses you with strength.
So, that’s a bold declaration. YES, and, as children of God, it’s super important that make the decision to partner with the truth of God’s word. We have the power to commit to what we start.
It feels really good to EXPERIENCE agency and victory in my body after living with so much defeat and powerlessness.
Endurance training exposes your weakness
I approach my endurance training as a deep and sweet invitation to spend time with the Father, allowing Him to minister to my soul and letting Him teach me what I can only learn through movement.
It feels really good when I EXPERIENCE agency and victory in my body after living with so much defeat and powerlessness. I find it hard to take the task of an endurance activity to the table and sit with my Father and ask Him to teach me what I cannot seem to know any other way except through finishing what I thought I was too weak, uncommitted, or incapable of completing. There is something special that happens when you push past that last mile when you didn’t think you could.
There is this story in the Bible when one of God’s prophets, Elijah (see 1 Kings), was on a mission to prove that there is only ONE true God. The worshippers of Baal were giving him a hard time and he was fatigued. Mentally, he wiped out. He was hungry, tired, and felt alone. This was AFTER finding great success and victory in terms of showing our how powerful God is.
I imagine Elijah felt like a runner on mile 22 of the NYC marathon, so close to the finish line, but really tired. I imagine he felt like he was doing more than he had the physical strength or spiritual fortitude to endure. In that weakness and exhaustion, Elijah felt alone.
Endurance activities can make you feel like that. Like, one more mile? Another hour till summit? Another steep climb? How much longer till the break? Till food? God, why am I even doing this? I’m all alone in my weakness. But, we are never alone. He is with us.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” (Hebrews 10: 35-39 ESV)
When we make a commitment to show up for ourselves and take responsibility for our lives, we are doing a godly thing. We are fighting against a war for our identity as children of God and embodying the truth that we can do whatever task He sets before us. We must not give in to doubt, fear, or succumb to a lack of faith in what God can really do for us.
You can do hard things, here's how:
You can do hard things by training your mind to line up with the body and the spirit. God will fight for you and He will strengthen you. Through this bold act of faith, where you could and might fail, you are saying to the Lord, I need you. That’s a holy place. Don’t forsake the blessings from your dependence on God.
You will need a few tools and trusty sidekicks to get the ball rolling and to keep it in motion. You will need to have a goal that is bigger than the tangible objective, too.
–Running group (virtual or in-person)
-Visible and tangible goals that you make public and share with others
-Tracker to measure your progress over time
–Cheerleaders (those that tell you to keep going-online or group chat)
-Plan an exercise schedule you can stick to!
–Stretching practices to prevent injury!
-Invite God into your workout (Revelation Wellness Podcast, RevWell TV, etc.)
Stephanie Suarez (Platoon 20 & RevWild Squad 001) lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has a passion for the outdoors and for movement of all types. She loves coffee and art. Since we are masterpieces, she also loves people. She believes that when movement and community come together, it’s a taste of the abundant goodness of God.
PRESS ON WITH THESE RESOURCES:
Walk the Words of Jesus!
For 21 days, you’ll walk and pray through scripture with an audio recording as your guide.
Each walk will take you into the Words of Jesus and prompt you to engage with the Word in prayer. You won’t just listen to the words but process and walk the words of Jesus. You’ll put feet to your faith as you follow the One who gave us His Word.
Challenge begins on June 13th!
13 Responses
I definitely needed this word this morning!! Thank you! My word for the second half of 2022 is now endurance! I started the year with surrender, I will finish it with endurance. Thank you!
SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing, Robyn!
That’s awesome, Robyn!!!!!
♀️ I’m ready for a long run after this post.
Woo! me too! We’re so glad it was encouraging for you!
Go get ‘em, Frank!
Great message! Spurs me on in this season.
Amen! Keep pressing in and pressing on!
Jacinta, I woke up discouraged and received my own words reminding me not to give up!
I absolutely love this! So glad to be in the same running group as you though I walk . Keep being awesome
Thanks for sharing, Bernadette! Keep going!
I love your passion and enthusiasm, Bernadette. I’m really glad we can do this together. ❤️
You’re so inspiring and encouraging, Bernadette!