Running with Perseverance

Running with Perseverance
Words of Faith 4-17-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Hebrews 12
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance. . .

The Christian race of faith is not a sprint. It is a distance race. The journey of faith is not accomplished with a burst of speed. Completion of our part of the course depends upon endurance and perseverance. How fast we run is of no importance if we do not complete our leg of the course.

Perseverance is the quality of never quitting. Perseverance is the quality that causes a runner to get back up even if they have fallen in the mud for the umpteenth time. Perseverance is the quality that keeps the runner going even when their lungs cry out for more air, and their muscles burn with pain. Perseverance is the quality that causes the runner to get back up and brush off when a fellow runner accidentally or even deliberately trips them up. Perseverance is the quality that drives the runner back to their feet all the faster when an opponent deliberately pushes them to the ground. Perseverance never quits.

Perseverance is what caused Jesus to go to the cross. Perseverance is what caused Paul to sing in jail. Perseverance is what caused Peter and the other disciples to go to their deaths, if necessary, to finish their leg of the race as witnesses for Christ.

The race cannot be run in any other way. We either run the race with perseverance or we do not run long at all. We do not have the option of running the race with ambivalence, hesitation, vacillation, or uncertainty. Quitting may seem an option, but starting again will be all the harder.

There is a famous illustration of perseverance told of world-renowned violinist Yitzhak Perlman, who was stricken with polio as a child. As a result, he wears braces on both legs and walks with crutches. At concerts, getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He slowly crosses the stage until he reaches his chair. He lays his crutches on the floor, slowly unclasps his legs, tucks one foot back, and extends the other forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor, and proceeds to play.

One fall evening in 1995, while performing at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, Perlman had to deal with one additional handicap. Jack Reimer, a columnist with the Houston Chronicle, described the scene. "Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap— it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant."

There was no mistaking what he had to do. People who were there said, "We figured he would have to get up to either find another violin or find another string for this one." But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes, and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra and he played from where he had left off. He played with passion and power.

Of course, it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. But that night, Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulate, change, recompose the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was detuning the strings to get new sounds they had never made before.

There is no easy way to gain the quality of perseverance. Paul wrote to the Believers at Rome,"...We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3 5)

Are you tempted to quit? Don't do it. Persevere. Push through the pain. Keep going. Modulate, change, recompose. Get help if necessary. But don't quit. Persevere.

Lord, give me the grace to persevere under pressure. Build my character through every experience. And from character, give me hope that does not disappoint. Pour Your love into my heart by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2026
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2026 Jeffrey D. Hoy.