Stamina and Endurance to Finish Strong

Have you ever gotten to a place of being weary? I don’t mean tired. It’s beyond that. No nap or sleeping in a little later will help what I’m talking about. 2024 was a taxing year for me both physically and mentally/emotionally. It involved a lot of travel and some significant family changes, in addition to an ongoing “battle” that my husband and I have been engaged in with some contractors over their sloppy business practices (and work!). The pace of my life has been nonstop which caused me to get to the last couple of weeks of the year feeling like I had run out of gas. I had lost my stamina and endurance.

I have shared at some point our journey together that the Lord deals with me in words. I’ll “hear” or sense a specific word that I’ll first look up for its official definition and then I’ll let it marinate for a bit until I uncover/discover the application for me. I woke up recently very clearly hearing the word stamina, along with the words of a Scripture to contextualize it for me: Hebrews 12:1-3. The word that is used in the Scripture is endurance but it will take stamina AND endurance to accomplish your goals successfully. That message for me is very clear.

A Runner’s Preparation

I was on my junior high and high school track teams. I was never a fan of long-distance running and instead focused on sprints, short-distance races. I wasn’t interested in running any race longer than 200 meters (if you’re at all familiar with track events). Even though my races weren’t very long they still required practice to prepare for them. The same is true for long(er) distance races; as a matter of fact, the longer the race the more intense and specific the training and preparation. The key is to prepare yourself and your body to put forth your best effort from the beginning of the race until the end. It’s the only way to put yourself in a position to win. There are specific strategies to employ when finishing strong is your goal, not just crawling over the finish line. LOL A well-run race involves a preparation process that teaches the runner the proper pace for the specific race he or she is running, and to identify specifically what will ensure the ability to successfully complete the race.

Stamina vs. Endurance

The dictionary definition of stamina is “the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort,” while endurance is defined as “the ability or strength to continue or last, despite fatigue, stress or other conditions.” The two work together with stamina focusing on maximizing output while endurance focuses on maximizing time. Achieving a goal is not easy and often it is not quick! There are bumps and obstacles along the way that will require a strategy to overcome and continue when things get tough. Or when the finish line seems to be far out of sight. You need stamina AND endurance to produce at a high level for an extended period of time.

Jesus, the Greatest Example

Hebrews 12 gives us insight for running a race using Jesus as the example. I want to note first that Jesus was born to die. His purpose on earth was to sacrifice His life to make a way of salvation for the human race. Crossing the finish line for Him meant facing the Cross. He was very clear on His assignment but even though He was God personified, the human part of Him struggled when the time was upon Him to face the brutal and inhumane crucifixion. Jesus struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane, with blood and tears, asking the Father for another way but in the end He acquiesced. He endured. Hebrews 12 gives us clear instructions for how to endure…

Get Rid of the Weight

“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down…” It is a known fact that carrying heavy weight is going to slow you down. An obvious key to increasing your stamina is to let go of weight that you sometimes don’t even realize you are carrying: the weight of other people’s expectations. The weight of obligations that you take on that decrease your capacity for what you actually should be doing. The weight of comparison to others, doubt, fear… All of these and more equate to weight that negatively impacts your ability to make forward progress. This is YOUR race and you should be on YOUR God-given assignment! Jesus reminds us in Matthew 11:30 that burden is light. If you want to increase your stamina, put down what was never meant for you to carry!

Remember Your WHY

“Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross…” Jesus knew that there was a seat waiting for Him that only He could occupy once His work was done, and it was right beside The Father. I’ve heard with long distance races that there comes a point where the runner’s body reaches fatigue and starts to shut down. The motivation that keeps the runner going is the thought of crossing the finish line. You must identify your finish line! What is the end goal that you want to accomplish? Is it losing a certain number of pounds? Completing a class that you have started that’s going to help you advance in your career? Or do you want to finally organize your closet that’s been stressing you out??? Whatever your desired outcome, it’s going to take an intentional commitment to make it through the tough moments that we all have to push through. When you’re facing the hardest part of your process, keeping the finish line in mind, the thing you are ultimately working to accomplish, is what’s going to keep you moving. A strong enough WHY will help prevent you from giving up.

Check Your Perspective

“After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.” The writer of Hebrews is helping us in this verse to keep a proper perspective. He is reminding us that, though challenges may come, it’s not costing our lives to overcome them. I said before that Jesus was born to die. It was the plan that God implemented for Him to provide us freedom from sin. Chances are, your improvement process isn’t going to require you to martyr yourself. Your growth/development/achievement process may be hard but there is hard and there is hard. Many times we mistake “hard” for uncomfortable because be honest, we don’t like to be uncomfortable and often that is enough to negatively impact your stamina and inhibit progress.

Be Teachable, Coachable and Accountable

 “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” I’m the type of person that doesn’t exactly enjoy criticism, even when it’s constructive. And I for SURE don’t like discipline! That is 100% attributable to perfectionism but that’s another post for another day. While I realize that about myself, I have learned to intentionally open myself up to the input of trusted voices. We all have blind spots that require objective feedback from those who have our best interests at heart to help us overcome. It’s what coaches offer to even the most gifted athletes because talent alone isn’t enough when you want to establish a winning legacy. Identify the trusted voices in your world and lean into the value that they can provide to ensure your stamina remains intact and to help you win!

The Bible As Your Guide

The Bible gives clear strategy for winning the race of life. The snippets from Hebrews 12 above describe how Jesus was able to endure the torture and the shame of The Cross. The Apostle Paul also uses the analogy of a race several times to provide us guidance for how we should move. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul gives us the perfect summary of how we are to run our own race. He tells us that we should run to win and that it’s going to take discipline to do so. In Chapter 3 of his letter to the Philippians, he tells them that they should be like him and keep their eyes on the ultimate prize. He warns them to forget what’s behind them and keep their eyes focused ahead. It’s impossible to move forward quickly when you’re looking back, or to not run into obstacles. Looking back slows you down. These scriptures provide clear guidance for how to maintain your stamina, to endure, so that you can continue to move forward. Or in other words, to progress.

Endurance for YOUR Race

You’re going to need stamina to consistently produce, and endurance to make it to the finish line, Friend. It’s up to you to figure out what it will take for you to build both. We are all individuals. What it takes for me may not mirror exactly what it will take for you and vice versa. The key is to make the concerted effort to identify what is going to work for you and not against. The goal is to WIN — to cross the finish line still standing, with a sense of accomplishment because you made it. You have too much to do to allow anything to slow you down, or stop you, when you have the ability to shake it all off. Now is the perfect time to “get to shaking” so you can set the pace for the rest of the year. Let’s GO!