If you have not read the last 3 blog posts from this series please do so before reading…
E = Endurance
Life is simple, it’s just not easy and it takes endurance if you’re gonna make it.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he 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 sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
We must run with perseverance, that means hang in there! Don’t grow weary and lose heart when you are believing God. Philosopher Thomas Carlyle said,
“Endurance is patience concentrated.”
The ability to “hang in there” is one of the toughest, yet rewarding traits to have. Our impatience can cause us to plow ahead and damage what could have been if we had been patient. It is like the Captain who ran too far ahead of the Calvary and was mistaken for an Indian, it didn’t turn out too well for him! Be in step with God’s timing. Don’t rush your life. Make sure you stay the course. Just because you aren’t seeing results immediately does not mean God is not working! All things will unfold when they are supposed to if you are in God’s timing! Don’t go by your watch, go by God’s watch. Patience is about TRUST…Do you trust that God is in control? Do you trust that He is leading you?
How do you endure?
1. Stay Determined
You do not get to the top without determination. You do not climb a significant mountain without an unwavering sense of commitment to the journey. Only climbing when you “feel like it” will never take you to the heights. You only get to the top by hard work and endurance. “Feeling like it” may get you started but it won’t keep you going. You have to determine within yourself that NOTHING will hold you back from your dream to make it to the top. Too many people give up short of their dreams because the terrain gets too rough for them. When faced with obstacles and challenges they give up. But in order to reach the top we have to fight through the set-backs and unforeseen challenges. Always remember this…you can’t climb a smooth mountain. It is the rocky places that we can use to become better and stronger in life.
2. Stay Encouraged
If God has commanded it, don’t question it. Don’t let discouragement set in and steal your joy. God will be with us wherever we go. That means in our failure He is with us to pick us up and brush us off. Do not be terrified of the circumstances you go through, rather be strong and courageous. Our strength is not in ourself but in the one who holds the universe in the palm of His hand. He is able to do more than we could ask, think, or imagine according to His power that is at work within us.
3. Stay Focused
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said it best,
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Endure to the end and follow through. Don’t stop short on your journey. Fight the good fight, and finish the race as the Apostle Paul said. Endurance is about pacing yourself for a marathon, not a short sprint. We need an unwavering commitment to the mission God has put in us to see it till the end. Don’t be like the kamikaze pilot on his 40th mission. Commitment is more than words, it is action that follows through at all cost.
Joan of Arc knew her purpose at an early age. When she was seventeen she led 3,000 French Knights in battle. Once she told a military general, “I will lead the way over the wall.” The general replied, “Not a man will follow you.” To this Joan of Arc said, “I won’t be looking back to see if they’re following me.”
Don’t let obstacles and others derail you from your mission. Outlast your critics and show them they are wrong. Not by words, but by action and dedication. LITTLE by little, DAY by day, is how you make GREAT leaps. Don’t give up on your dreams and your goals. No matter what age you are, where you came from, or what obstacles stand in your way, always blaze new trails towards your destiny. If you fall down, get back up, brush off the dust and get going again. Failure is not fatal, it is a growth lesson if you allow it to teach you. You may go through the valley of the shadow of death, but remember it is only the shadow. Never surrender your purpose and your mission when God has put them in your heart! Stay focused on your goals!
Then keep calm and let your faith continue on!
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