The Power of Endurance

Today's Lenten sermon series topic was endurance (or, as it says in my Bible translation, perseverance).

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. "

2 Peter 1: 3-8

In my mind, endurance is a somewhat contradictory concept. It is a quality that we often admire in others. Think about the endurance of a marathon runner. I am amazed that people have the mental and physical stamina to complete that kind of activity. Endurance is also a quality that I think most people would be proud to possess. However, and here's the rub, most of us would not choose to have to go through the process of developing it. No one wants to go through a difficult time, such as a long term job search or fighting cancer, but those are precisely the kind of times when endurance can develop.

Although endurance can be applied to many aspects of life, the sermon's focus today was on its role in spiritual development. My pastor chose to discuss endurance not as something we do because we have to (during difficult times) but as something we choose to do as part of our journey in knowing God. Knowing God, living the life of a disciple, sharing God's grace and love with the world is no easy feat. It's up to us to choose to invest ourselves in this long-term process, which involves trusting God to partner with us to accomplish this great thing that we cannot do on our own. As you can imagine, this takes great amounts of endurance.

The journey toward God may not be an easy journey but it is infinitely worth pursuing. As one of my favorite Biblical pep talks says:

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Hebrews 12: 1-3

Next time you are faced with a situation requiring perseverance, embrace it! Walk through that time with God and see how He can use that situation to strengthen you and glorify Himself. God works all things for the good of those who love him (I can't remember the citation right now, but that's in the Bible too..what an amazing promise!)