THE ART OF ENDURING

I once talked to a minister of a thriving church, and I asked him if he had figured out how to pastor effectively. In his own poetic way, he said, “I feel like I’m running down a gravel road holding onto the top of the tailgate of a pickup, and just when I think I can hop on the bumper and climb into the back for a free ride, the tailgate comes unlatched and falls open.”

That image has stayed with me. It’s raw, dusty, and human. We all know that feeling of being jolted, like a kick in the gut, when we think we're catching up, only to have the ground shift.

Every culture has its stories of struggle. History is populated with legends and myths of struggles and challenges. Those timeless tales remind us of what it means to persevere when life keeps pushing back. Whether it’s Sisyphus with his eternal boulder, Kairos with his fleeting moment, Beowulf battling Grendel, or Job enduring wave after wave of loss, the message is the same:The human spirit is defined not by ease, but by endurance and awareness of the moment.

The Greek myth of Sisyphus may seem bleak. How terrible it would be for a person to be condemned to roll a stone up a hill forever, only for it to tumble back down just when he makes it to the top. Yet philosopher Albert Camus reimagined Sisyphus, not as a “sissy” (got it? :), but as a figure of quiet rebellion. He wrote, “We must imagine Sisyphus happy” (Lamke, 2017). Why? Because meaning isn’t found at the top of the hill. It’s created in the climb. Each push, each breath, each return to the base of the mountain becomes an act of defiance and purpose. It’s seen in the apostles each time they are beaten and commanded not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, and yet they return to the city street and pick up where they left off when first arrested.

And then there’s Beowulf, the archetype of courage. When he nailed Grendel’s paw to the wall of Heorot, it was more than proof of victory. It was a declaration that “the monster was real, but so was my courage.” Though Grendel was an evil monster who hated joy and happiness, he could not stand against the power of faith and endurance.

In another ancient Greek tale, there was a young god named Kairos, representing opportunity. He was depicted with wings on his feet because he moved swiftly and was fleeting and had a lock of hair on his forehead so he could be easily seized, yet the back of his head was bald. When asked why, he replied that one could only seize him while he was coming toward you, never after he had passed, since the back of his head was hairless. Opportunity, like faith, often demands attention, readiness and courage. We cannot wait for what we think is the perfect time to act. Rather, we must recognize the Kairos, the divine moment, and grasp it before it’s gone. Carpe diem! (Seize the day!)

The Bible echoes this rhythm of striving and faith.

• Job held fast to his integrity, saying, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15 KJV).

• Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years, only to behold the Promised Land from afar.

• Paul, beaten and imprisoned, pressed on, declaring, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 KJV).

Their stories don’t glorify triumph; they sanctify endurance. They remind us that faith is not proven in the absence of struggle but in the decision to continue despite the struggle.

Jesus echoed this principle when He recalled Israel’s time in the wilderness, saying:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15 (KJV)

The lesson is profound. It is said that healing does not come from denying pain but from lifting it up and facing it honestly and faithfully. Christ transforms the very image of suffering into the source of salvation. Just as Sisyphus found meaning in the climb, or Beowulf in the battle with the monster of evil, Jesus shows that what once wounded can also be redeemed when lifted toward heaven. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne (Revelation 3:21).  

Paul captures this same tension between striving and surrender when he said, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12 (KJV).

He reminds us that we are all still “pressing toward the mark” and that spiritual growth, like the boulder of Sisyphus or the road beneath the falling tailgate, is an ongoing pursuit. We have not yet apprehended, yet we are apprehended by grace itself.

Out of all this, we find a single truth. And that is because life is rarely about arriving. It’s about continuing to push, to seize the moment, to hold on, to fight the monster, and to lift the stone again. Perhaps that’s what Sisyphus, Kairos, Job, Paul, and Beowulf all understood. That the struggle itself is sacred and every scrape, scar, or fall reminds us that we are still becoming. And maybe Jesus’ words remind us that the very things that pierce us can also point us toward healing, if we only have the courage to look up.

What “boulder” or “moment of opportunity” are you facing this week?

Lampe, K. (2017). Camus and the myth of Sisyphus. A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology, 433-445.