Some people love to run. They feel like there is nothing better than being out in nature, getting some exercise, and offloading some stress. I am not one of those people. I run, but only because I have to. To be sure, no one makes me run, but if I don't run there seems to become more of me - and I also start to feel sort of sluggish (what a great word, slug-gish).

I realize there are other ways to get exercise, but running is free - and I don't have to make any sudden stops or change direction quickly which is a kindness for my soccer-damaged knees.

Making running even worse is the Michigan weather, which means I do quite a bit of running on a treadmill which is incredibly boring. But necessary.

Last fall I was running several times a week, usually 20 or 25 minutes at a time, but then I stopped for the holidays. Instead, I ate. Maybe more than I should have. So mid-January I hopped back on the treadmill and ran for just 5 minutes - and thought I was going to die. Five minutes! I had no idea a person could get out of shape so fast. I was discouraged, but determined.

For the next four or five weeks I got on the treadmill religiously (and I ran, too). Finally, my endurance started to increase and after a month or so I could go 15 minutes straight - without having to walk. Not impressive, but nevertheless progress. Marginal progress.

About that time my wife and I were out walking the dog one afternoon and I was bemoaning my situation and how hard running had become. Maybe it was an age thing? That's when Kelly said this: "You know, I was using the treadmill over Christmas and I set it on incline."

What?!!! I had been running uphill for the past month.

The next day I reset the treadmill to "100% completely and utterly flat" and, sure enough, I was able to run 25 minutes with ease. In fact, it was so easy that I kept running longer and longer and I now can run forever. (Well, not quite, but pretty far and for pretty long.)

I have forgiven my wife for both messing with my treadmill and for keeping her little secret from me for so long. And I have also pondered the lesson that my experience taught.

Increased difficulty leads to greater endurance.

Maybe that's what Paul had in mind when he penned Romans 5:3-4:

³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.

So suffering (aka running) produces perseverance which eventually leads to hope. Or, hardship can have positive outcomes.

We don't like hardship because it's painful, exhausting, confusing and generally unpleasant. But God sees hardship as a key to spiritual growth. Sometimes we wonder why he doesn't protect us from the difficulties of life, when doing so would deny us the opportunity to grow - and to experience greater things in our faith!

If I just ran for the fun of it, I would probably never run. But I run for the outcomes. I run for rewards. For the future. That's the promise of hardship.

I'm not sure what the difficulty is that you might be facing at the moment - but I do know that God can use it to make you stronger, and your faith better.

 Keep running!