“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 was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming 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 to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul” Hebrews 10:35-39.

It’s not about how fast we start, but how long we run. In high school track, my fellow runners and I found a shortcut to the long practice route we were to run each day. We tricked our coach into thinking we were practicing as expected - until the first track meet. When most of the team failed to finish, it became apparent we were slacking in practice. We had not developed endurance.

There are no shortcuts to endurance in the christian life. Sometimes adversity stops us in our tracks, and the temptation to renounce our faith and quit is appealing. But, how will we receive the promised prize if we quit?

Quoting from Habakkuk 2, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that the One who is coming will not delay. Although the return of Christ may seem much delayed, He will come “in a very little while” - either in a short amount of time, or from the perspective of our mortality.

While the writer of Hebrews was concerned about the need for endurance on the part of his audience, he was confident: “But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

The same holds true for us. As Thomas Paine said in 1776, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” With our true citizenship being the kingdom of God, we dare not be the “summer soldier and the sunshine patriot” as we face the greater challenges of these last days. As the storm clouds gather, and times of tribulation draw near, the need for faith and perseverance are greater than ever before.

Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in our sustaining Savior, who “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” Romans 8:37.

Press on until the end.

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