Hi how are you all today. I am well. Our church had two miracle services yesterday and there were so many miracles. I love seeing God move in people’s lives. The best part is when people give their lives to Jesus and their lives are forever changed for good. That is the biggest miracle.
I have had a really crazy week at work and I keep thinking to myself- it is going to be good to retire just before Christmas which I am. But sometimes when those tough times come, there is no way out and we must endure.
Endure in the Merriam-Webster dictionary means to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding. That doesn’t sound fun does it? But it is something we must do if we are disciples of Jesus living in this current world.
It would be so easy to go with the flow but that won’t lead us to the place that is best for us in God. We need to turn around and push against the flow.
James 1:12 in the Message Bible states:
12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
This verse tells us that when we meet challenges and endure we are fortunate. Why? Because it is the love of God , the fear of God and the reward of eternal life that we need to keep in our remembrance.
Soldiers in a war know that if they don’t endure against the enemy, they will not only lose the war but probably lose their life.
Endurance is not only tied to victory, it is tied to life. If we endure a trial for something good; generally that makes life better.
Endurance not only affects us; it also affects others.
Let’s have a look at Moses. In Hebrews 11: 24-28 in the Message Bible is a summary of his life and it states, in part:
24-28 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going.
Moses could have spent his entire life in a palace helping Pharaoh rule and enjoying all the privileges of palace life. But he chose not to! Why? Because he knew the people in the palace were not his people. They didn’t look like him. So he went to find his people.
If you know the story, he killed an Egyptian and fled, living 40 years in the dessert before God appeared to him.
He then came back to Egypt and was instrumental in speaking Gods Word to the Egyptians. God brought plagues on the Egyptians until Pharaoh drove them out.
Through this time Moses endured suffering from not only the Egyptians but also from the Israelites. However, he knew to keep going because God had promised His people freedom. Moses’ endurance through those trials in Egypt benefitted others.
The same can happen to us. Maybe you are enduring a trial at present. It is painful but maybe it will set the future generations in your family free. Maybe you are fighting in prayer for a loved one away from Jesus. The trial is hard but you know that no weapon formed against you will prosper so you endure and believe for the promise to come to pass, even though nothing seems to be changing. Trust me- I have been there and are there now. All we can do is endure and keep going. Failure is not an option as victory has already been won on the cross.
I will leave you with one verse. It is found in Ephesians 6 and in the Message Bible it states:
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
The war keeps going but you will win. So keep enduring- victory is around the corner.
Bless you and keep living the life God intended.
Karen
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