Around every month or so I ask God to give me a word or a verse/book to ponder on and to study. Recently God has given me the word Endure. How do I know for sure? Well I went to the Motion Conference here in Birmingham. The first night Christine Caine spoke a wonderful message. If you have ever watched her speak then you know she says the word “endure” like 20 times while sharing her testimony. This word stuck out to me and since then has been ringing in my head
Endurance- (n) the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.
Endurance- (adj) denoting or relating to a race or other sporting event that takes place over a long distance or otherwise demands great physical stamina.
I love the story of Job. Job is a wealthy upright man. He suddenly loses his possessions, his family, and his health. Job didn’t understand why he was suffering. Job’s friends wrongly accused that suffering is a result of sin. So Job repented of his sin. Which did nothing. A guy named Elihu told Job that he is a good man, he allowed himself to become boastful and God was punishing him in order for him to become humble. That was partially true but Gods plan was bigger than that. God is beyond our comprehension and we do not always know why he allows suffering into our lives. We just have to remain faithful. Job finally learns that when he has nothing left, he has God by his side and that was enough for him. Testing is difficult but the results are often a deeper relationship and being closer with God. You see, Job endured in his faithfulness. With all the questions and doubt, he was faithful to God. When his wife and his friends told Job to give up on God, He endured. He endured his physical, emotional, and spiritual pain.
I had to endure many hardships in my own life. I had to endure the loss of my mom. I endured getting bullied. I had to endure many break ups. I endured physical and emotional pain. I only endured those hardships with God by my side.
In 2016 I ran my first half marathon. It was February. It is winter at this time. On a cold early Sunday morning, I headed out to the starting line. It was 28 degrees. All I had on was a pull over and shorts. Starting out was not all that hard. I just had to figure out my pace. I paced myself to around 8 minutes a mile. The 9th mile is where it got tough. My stomach started to liquify, I was running out of fuel, my breathing pattern was getting shorter. I had to endure through the second wind. I am proud to say that I never walked once. Ended up finishing with a time of an hour and 47 minutes with a pace of 8:17/mile.
Jesus ran the ultimate marathon. Jesus is the one that endured. He endured when he was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the wilderness. He endured when his family didn’t understand. He endured when Judas betrayed him. He endured when the crowd wanted to crucify him. He endured when he was whipped and hammered into a cross. He endured when he cried out Tetelestai. He endured when he was buried for 3 days but then Jesus got up and defeated hell, He defeated death.
Because Jesus endured we can also endure.
I am running a race like no other. Its not a short sprint but a marathon. A marathon through the valleys of the shadows of death to reach the finish line to rest upon Gods lap. This race it not going to be easy. I don’t want it to be easy. I want to be a witness of Gods works. I want to be a witness of the broken and weary. I am asking God for me to see the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. I want to die to self because that is the ultimate love language. Which means saying to God, “Not my will but yours”. It means serving in places I don’t want to serve. Its easier said than done but I am not my own. We belong to Jesus. Jesus sacrificed himself so that we could live in eternity with Him.
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1st Corinthians 3:17)
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4)
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:2)
30 DAYS TILL I LEAVE TO GO TO AFRICA (SWAZILAND)!!!! MAKE SURE YOU ARE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG TO GET UPDATES!!! I WILL NOT ALWAYS SHARE ON FACEBOOK/OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SO SUBSCRIBE!(:
