As I read 2 Timothy 2 to the youth prayer group Thursday morning, verse 3 jumped out at me (again). Paul tells Timothy to “Endure hardness”. Endurance is an attribute we that we must have, but don’t enjoy getting. To endure something implies that it is not going to be easy. To endure means that you will dealing with it for a while – it will pull at you to quit and give in.
Endurance reminds me of athletes who punish their bodies in order to outlast their opponents. I think of marathons and the runners – how much training is involved – the diet – pushing themselves to be better.
Paul said “Endure hardness” – hardness? That certainly implies difficulty.