all runners run . . .

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Here we are, talking about endurance again.

This is another message that is repeated several times over in the Bible.

When our world turns upside down, we have got to, got to, got to lean on Him.

We cannot let go of our faith.

Ever.

It is my understanding that U.S. Navy Seal training is probably the toughest training any military member goes through.

It is 6 months of grueling intense physical and mental challenges, with one week in particular known as “hell week”.

This is an excerpt from the website navyseals.com:

Throughout Hell Week, Instructors with bull-horns entice trainees to quit, mimicking the inner voice that tells you to give in to your physical pain.  The Instructors make it easy, even honorable, for students to come out of the cold: simply ring the bell that signals defeat. . . While Instructors could get anyone to quit if they wanted to, that’s not what they’re after.  They apply great physical and mental stress, sow the seeds of doubt, and give tempting invitations for trainees to quit.  It’s up to the individual student to either turn it into increased resolve, or decide on his own to quit.  The majority of the students who make it through Hell Week go on to graduate BUD/S and become SEALs.  Having survived that severe trial, they feel literally unstoppable — that they can do anything.  They have earned a place as one of the elite Navy SEALs the United States sends to do the “impossible” during times of war.

Let’s not ring the bell in our lives.

Let’s each endure every trial that we are given so that we too can be one of the elite that wears the crown forever.

We are not expected to face this life alone. 

He is there for us, the proud parent in the grandstands cheering us on until the end of the race.

Have a blessed day!