Running with Endurance, Growing through Discipline, and Flourishing in Community
Pastor Reed Sowell
Life with Christ often feels like a long-distance run. Some days come naturally and feel almost effortless, while others feel slow and heavy, like your legs are made of sandbags. Yet Hebrews 12 paints a picture of spiritual endurance that isn’t frantic or franticly “trying harder,” but steady, focused, and propelled forward by joy. Click the link above for the full message.
When you dig into the chapter, you notice the theme of joy—real joy—woven through each part. Not the vague, optimistic kind that floats away the moment life becomes difficult, but the kind that grows deeper the longer you follow Jesus. This joy strengthens you during spiritual training, pushes you toward community, and anchors you to an unshakable kingdom. Everything in the Christian life ties back to this new covenant relationship with Christ, one that reshapes how we run, how we respond to discipline, and how we walk with one another in faith.
The Witnesses Who Show Us Faithfulness Is Worth It
Hebrews 12:1–3 (NIV) sets the stage with words that are both familiar and deeply challenging:
“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 race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The phrase “great cloud of witnesses” may create the mental picture of people watching from the sidelines, cheering you on. That’s not quite the point the passage makes. This “cloud” refers to the long list of faithful men and women from Hebrews 11—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and many others. Their stories testify through time that faithfulness to God is worth it. Their lives aren’t spectators; they’re evidence. Their faith speaks.
They endured trials that seemed impossible. They trusted God when the outcomes were unclear. They obeyed when obedience cost them something. And their lives become a kind of baton passed into the hands of every believer today. You’re not starting from scratch. You’re continuing a legacy of long obedience.
Throwing Off What Slows Us Down
Anyone who has trained for a race knows the difference between running unburdened and running while weighed down. It’s dramatic. The same is true spiritually. Hindrances aren’t always outright sin; sometimes they’re simply things you’ve grown comfortable with, even though they drain your endurance.
This passage challenges each of us to examine what slows our spiritual pace:
A habit you’ve excused for too long
A distraction you’ve allowed to steal time and focus
A cycle of comparison
A pattern of thought you’ve let shape your mood
Some burdens become so normal that you barely recognize them anymore. But spiritual endurance grows through consistent, intentional decisions made daily—small choices that build long-term momentum.
Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus
The passage calls Christ the “pioneer and perfecter of faith.” He began your faith journey, and He is shaping it still. What carried Jesus through His suffering? Joy. The joy “set before Him.” Not the joy of comfort, but the joy of restoring humanity to God. The joy of being our Mediator. The joy of a new and better covenant.
If Jesus endured for joy, then your endurance is also tied to joy—joy that grows when your eyes are fixed not on circumstances, but on the One who overcame them.
When God’s Discipline Is Actually Evidence of Love
Hebrews 12:4–13 moves into a topic many people misunderstand, but it reframes it in a surprisingly life-giving way.
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves…” (NIV)
Discipline and punishment are not the same. “Discipline” in this passage comes from the Greek word paideia, which means tutorship, training, nurturing, instruction. The heart of this passage isn’t fear—it’s formation.
What God’s Discipline Is and What It’s Not
God’s discipline isn’t punitive. He isn’t looking for ways to catch you failing. Instead, His discipline aims to make you steady, mature, and holy. It’s the kind of training that strengthens your spiritual muscles over time.
You can think of training in sports: coaches don’t push athletes because they’re angry; they push them because they see potential. They are preparing them for endurance, not punishing them for imperfection.
God’s discipline works similarly:
Correction: He closes doors, convicts your heart, or brings trusted voices into your world who offer truth you needed to hear.
Formation: Trials shape perseverance, and perseverance deepens maturity.
Strengthening: Pressures and responsibilities grow your capacity to walk in faithfulness.
Sometimes the situations that feel the most uncomfortable are actually the ones carrying the most spiritual weight.
The Purpose Behind the Process
Verse 10 provides the core reason:
“God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.” (NIV)
Holiness requires transformation, and transformation requires endurance. This is why James 1 echoes the same truth:
“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials… because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (NIV)
Is it easy to feel joy in trials? Not really. But perseverance grows only when resistance is present. God doesn’t waste anything—not hardship, not disappointment, not confusion. Each can be woven into the training of someone who is being made strong.
Strengthening Weak Arms and Knees
Toward the end of this section, Hebrews urges believers to “strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees” and “make level paths.” This isn’t about pretending life is easy. It’s about refusing to let trials make you brittle. God’s discipline trains you to stand firm, even when you feel like collapsing.
Flourishing in Community That Protects What Matters Most
Hebrews 12:14–17 shifts into a communal lens:
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (NIV)
Christian community exists for more than friendships or social connection. It serves a deeply spiritual purpose—helping believers remain anchored in grace, truth, and holiness.
Why Community Matters for Spiritual Growth
You cannot pursue holiness alone. Real spiritual formation requires people who can:
Speak truth when you feel lost
Pray when you feel weak
Encourage you when endurance feels thin
Hold you accountable when you drift
Celebrate with you when God works in your life
A “bitter root,” as the passage describes, can grow quietly. Community helps uproot what begins to fester in isolation.
The Cautionary Example of Esau
Esau’s story appears briefly, but its lesson is sharp. He traded the blessing of his birthright for a bowl of stew. A single moment of desire cost him something sacred.
That happens spiritually too. It’s easy to prioritize immediate relief over long-term blessing:
A moment of compromise
A fleeting comfort
A shortcut that promises ease
Community serves as a guardrail against choices like these. None of us see our blind spots clearly. Esau stands as the reminder that temporary appetites can jeopardize eternal rewards.
How Community Helps Us Endure
Healthy Christian community creates strength you simply cannot create alone. It reinforces endurance, refines holiness, and keeps you from surrendering sacred things for lesser things. It opens space for vulnerability, accountability, and belonging—elements every growing believer needs.
Living in the Reality of Mount Zion
Hebrews 12:18–29 brings the entire chapter to a powerful high point by comparing two mountains: Sinai and Zion.
Sinai: The Picture of Distance and Judgment
Mount Sinai was the place of God’s covenant with Israel. It represented holiness so intense that even Moses trembled. It was marked by boundaries, warnings, and separation. The people were reminded repeatedly that they could not come near.
This imagery shows the limitations of the old covenant. It revealed God’s holiness but not full access to Him.
Zion: The New Covenant of Joy, Access, and Life
Then the passage shifts:
“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God…” (NIV)
Zion symbolizes everything secured through Christ:
Celebration instead of fear
Access instead of distance
A kingdom instead of a wilderness
A Mediator instead of separation
Where Sinai emphasizes what people could not touch, Zion invites them in. Its imagery is full of angels, joyful assembly, restored relationship, and names written in heaven.
Jesus the Mediator of a Better Covenant
Verse 24 describes Christ’s blood as speaking “a better word than the blood of Abel.” Abel’s blood cried out for justice. Jesus’ blood cries out for mercy. The entire contrast between Sinai and Zion shows the difference between covenant-by-effort and covenant-by-grace.
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
The passage concludes with a prophetic reminder from Haggai about God shaking the earth. But it does so to emphasize the unshakable:
“Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful…” (NIV)
Everything temporary eventually falls away. But the kingdom of God—your future, your identity, your freedom—is secure. And that truth becomes a daily invitation to worship with awe and gratitude.
Practical Ways to Live Out These Truths
Understanding Hebrews 12 is one thing; living it out is something else entirely. These ideas become transformational when they’re practiced intentionally.
Building Endurance One Day at a Time
Spiritual endurance develops through repeated acts of obedience, not sweeping overnight transformations. Try choosing one area God might be highlighting—like forgiveness, purity, integrity, generosity, or prayer—and commit to 30 days of consistent obedience.
Another step might mean removing a hindrance:
Delete an app that drains your attention
Set a boundary in an overextended area of life
Confess something to a trusted friend to break secrecy
Adjust a routine that keeps you exhausted
Endurance grows when the path is cleared, not overcrowded.
Embracing God’s Discipline with Openness
Sit with the hard questions:
Why did that door close?
What is God developing through this discomfort?
What patterns is He surfacing?
Where is He inviting deeper trust?
Spiritual formation requires reflection, honesty, and time. God’s discipline is always saturated in love, aimed at producing holiness, strength, and joy.
Pursuing Community Purposefully
Choose one relationship to develop. Reach out to someone who needs support or someone who could offer you support. Community requires vulnerability, which is rarely comfortable but always fruitful.
Practicing Joy as an Act of Resistance
Joy isn’t about pretending circumstances are easy. It’s about rooting your hope in the unshakable kingdom of Jesus. You might try:
Singing a worship song at home
Declaring a promise of Scripture
Thanking God for three specific things
Celebrating small victories deliberately
Joy becomes a spiritual weapon against discouragement.
Call to Action
Identify one hindrance you need to remove this week and take a step toward clearing it.
Reach out to someone you trust and invite them into your spiritual journey.
Practice joy today by celebrating one thing God has done in your life.
Reflect on where God might be disciplining, shaping, or strengthening you right now.
Take one step. Then another. Endurance is built this way.
Further Reading
“A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” by Eugene Peterson
https://www.ivpress.com/a-long-obedience-in-the-same-direction“The Meaning of Marriage” by Timothy Keller
https://timothykeller.com/books/the-meaning-of-marriage
Other Links
Want to hear more? Check out last week’s message titled “By Faith: The Legacy of Hebrews 11” on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@viewchurchpnwAdditional Resource: Browse classes, studies, and spiritual tools on our resources page:
https://www.viewchurch.co/resources