Key Bible Verse: When your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything (James 1:4, NLT). Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:1

The summer before my last year of prep school, I decided to quit Coach Marvin Goldberg's cross-country team. I was tired of grueling workouts. I wanted some free time for things like dating. Come spring, I told myself, I'd get serious again and run on his track team, but I wanted out of the fall schedule of long-distance competition, where our team frequently contended in 10k races against college freshmen teams.

I wrote Coach about my decision. His typed reply arrived. The gist: By not running with the cross-country team this fall, you'll disappoint your teammates, who depend on you to help them win races, and turn your back on the team's supporters, who show up at every race to cheer your team on. But most of all, whenever you're faced with a challenge you don't like, or that seems too difficult, or that asks for too great a sacrifice, you'll find it easier and easier to walk away from it.

I changed my mind, returned to the cross-country team, and helped lead it to a league championship. I can't claim that I enjoyed myself in that effort, but at a deeper level I learned the satisfaction of accomplishing something that ended well. Perhaps in the long view of life that's more important.

—Gordon MacDonald in A Resilient Life

My Response: How can I learn to savor satisfaction that runs deeper than enjoyment?

Thought to Apply: It is always too soon to quit. —V. RAYMOND EDMAN (missionary, educator)

Adapted from A Resilient Life (Nelson, 2005) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

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