I have always wanted to run a marathon.

And as I have tried to prepare, I approached several of my friends who have successfully run marathons in the past, as well as those who have been on track teams in college. I asked them, “What is it that I need to know before I start training?” The most important piece of advice they could give me regarding marathons was this: find and set a sustainable pace.

There is an old saying that has been used and rebranded hundreds of times, and yet it still remains powerful; “Life isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon.” Sprints are about running fast, not about running for long periods of time. It’s all about getting from point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Whereas, marathons are about energy preservation. The focus is about crossing the finishing line, not the time in which it took us to get there.

As I consider keeping the pace of life, I can’t help but think of Paul.

He was beaten, jailed many times, shipwrecked, mocked, tortured, and a long list of other unsightly things. And yet even through the difficulties in his life, we see Paul keep his bearing. Paul keeps his focus on the finish line and says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7 NIV)

Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-2-timothy-4-7-8-keep-the-faith