Look to Jesus: The Ultimate Example of Perseverance

This month, we have looked at some remarkable examples of perseverance. We watched Job hold on when everything fell apart. We followed Joseph as he remained faithful while stuck and forgotten. And last week, we saw Jeremiah continue speaking the truth even when, year after year, people refused to listen.

Their circumstances were different, but each of them teaches us something about what it means to keep going when giving up would be easier. This week, we wrap up this series in Hebrews 11, where we find many more examples of men and women who, like Job, Joseph, and Jeremiah, persevered through extraordinary circumstances. Men and women who trusted God through uncertainty, opposition, suffering, and even death. Hebrews 12 describes them as a “great cloud of witnesses.”

But then something important happens. After pointing us toward all these great examples of faith, the writer of Hebrews turns our attention away from them and toward Someone greater. He tells us to look to Jesus.

Understanding Jesus’ Problem

Sometimes when we are going through a difficult season, it can feel as though no one really understands what we are carrying. Jesus does.

The God of the universe, the Creator of all things, stepped into human history and took on flesh. For roughly thirty-three years, the eternal Son walked the dusty roads of Israel. He knew hunger. He knew thirst. He knew exhaustion. He experienced rejection, betrayal, grief, and loss. Jesus knows what it is like to hurt.

And then came the cross. He was mocked, beaten, abandoned by His closest friends, and crucified between criminals. Yet beyond the physical suffering was something even greater. Jesus willingly bore the judgment for our sin. From the cross He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

This was not suffering from a distance. Jesus entered into the deepest realities of human pain so that sinners like you and me could be reconciled to God. So, when Scripture tells us to look to Jesus in the middle of our own suffering, it is not pointing us toward Someone who cannot understand. It is pointing us toward the One who understands better than anyone.

Appreciating Jesus’ Perseverance

Hebrews 12:1–3 brings our entire month on perseverance together:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

Notice where our eyes are supposed to be. Not on Job. Not on Joseph. Not on Jeremiah. Certainly not on ourselves. We are told to look to Jesus.

That does not diminish the examples of those who came before us. Their stories encourage us. Their faithfulness reminds us that God can sustain His people through extraordinary circumstances. But Jesus is different. He is the “founder and perfecter of our faith.” He did not simply show us how to run the race. He made the race possible. He walked the road of perfect obedience all the way to the cross and finished what none of us could finish ourselves.

And what sustained Him? “For the joy that was set before him.” Jesus knew where the road was leading. The cross was terrible, but it was not the end of the story. On the other side was resurrection. Redemption. Reconciliation. A people rescued from sin and brought home to God. That joy was greater than the suffering before Him.

Applying the Lesson of Jesus

Then Hebrews gives us a remarkably practical instruction: “Consider him.”

Those two words may be among the most important words we can remember when life becomes difficult. When the path becomes difficult, consider Him. When the answer to prayer seems delayed, consider Him. When doing the right thing costs you something, consider Him. When you are tired of waiting, tired of fighting, or simply tired, consider Him.

Our natural tendency is to stare at the problem. We replay it in our minds. We imagine everything that could go wrong. Before long, the problem becomes enormous because it is all we can see. Hebrews tells us to redirect our eyes and look to Jesus.

Perseverance is not simply gritting our teeth and finding a little more strength somewhere inside ourselves. Eventually, our strength runs out. Christian perseverance begins by fixing our eyes on Jesus, whose strength never does.

The Happy Ending

There is one more detail in Hebrews 12 that we should not miss. Jesus is not still hanging on the cross. He “is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The suffering had an ending. What looked like defeat became the greatest victory in human history. That is an important reminder for those of us still running our race.

Our suffering will have an ending too. For everyone who belongs to Christ, there is coming a day when every tear will be wiped away. Death will be no more. Neither will there be mourning, crying, or pain. We will finally experience what our hearts have always longed for: shalom. Perfect peace. Everything made right. Unbroken fellowship with God.

Job persevered. Joseph persevered. Jeremiah persevered. But ultimately, our hope is not found in any of them. Our hope is found in Jesus. So, if you are weary today, look to Him. If the road has been longer than you expected, look to Him. If you cannot see how your story is going to work out, look to Him.

The race is not over yet. Keep running. Keep trusting. And above all, keep looking to Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Father,

Thank You for sending Your Son, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. When I grow weary, help me fix my eyes on Jesus. When my circumstances seem overwhelming, remind me of the hope that is still ahead.

Give me strength when my own strength runs out. Keep me from growing weary or fainthearted, and teach me to trust You even when I cannot see where the road is leading.

Thank You that Jesus finished His race, conquered death, and is seated at Your right hand. Help me keep running until the day I see Him face to face.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday — Hebrews 12:1–3
Begin the week with the call to lay aside every weight, run with endurance, and look to Jesus.

Tuesday — Isaiah 53:3–6
A reminder that Jesus was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” and willingly bore our sin and suffering.

Wednesday — Philippians 2:5–11
Jesus humbled Himself and remained obedient all the way to the cross, followed by His exaltation – the perfect picture of perseverance followed by victory.

Thursday — 1 Peter 2:21–24
Peter specifically presents Christ’s suffering as an example for believers to follow, particularly when enduring suffering while remaining faithful.

Friday — Hebrews 4:14–16
Because Jesus understands our weakness, we can approach Him confidently to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Saturday — Revelation 21:1–5
The day is coming when death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more, and God will make all things new.