Endurance, Part 4

Last week we considered Abraham as an example of endurance. This week I wish to turn your attention to the supreme example of endurance, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

We are called here to run with patience the race that is set before us. Remember that patience is the quality of enduring with calmness and composure. That we have to run a race suggests a great expenditure of effort on our part. If you have ever run for any length of time, you know that there are points when you feel like you just can’t run one step farther. It is as though everything in you wants to quit. Being an avid exerciser, I know whereof I speak. What you need at this point of weakness is endurance, which is the ability to sustain the continued hardship without giving way. Therefore, we are called upon to run with patience the race. It takes patience to keep on keeping on when you want to give up. If you run the race with patience, you will endure to the finish.

In order to encourage us to run our race with patience, we are told to run “looking unto Jesus…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.” And then we are told to “consider him (Jesus) that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.” Jesus is set before us as an example of enduring hardship. We are told to look to this example and consider it. Now consider the definition of consider.

Consider - To contemplate mentally; fix the mind upon; to think over, meditate or reflect on, bestow attentive thought upon, give heed to, take note of.

When I tell you to “consider the definition of consider,” I am doing more than just making a play on words. I really want to you bestow attentive thought on this definition. Do you consider the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you fix your mind on Him? Do you meditate on Him? How much of your mental attention does He really command? What I am writing here is so extremely important because it is the key to enduring hardship! One reason people give up is that they have misplaced their attention. Rather than looking to Jesus, they look to their hardship. They consider how difficult their pain or trouble is to bear rather than considering Jesus. If they would bestow attentive thought upon Jesus Christ and what He endured for them, it would put their present hardship into perspective and make it more bearable.

Have you ever given serious consideration to the life of Christ? His life was so full of grief that He is described as “a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3). Consider how often sinners contradicted Him when He spoke. He endured that throughout His ministry. His words were constantly being misinterpreted and argued against, sometimes even by His own disciples. In fact, it was because sinners took issue with the things He said that He was ultimately delivered up to be crucified. So much contradiction of sinners, day in and day out. And yet He endured to the end. And when it was time for Him to go to the cross, He did not give up and run away. He endured it! And where would we be if He hadn’t? It you have ever taken time to reflect on the sufferings of Christ on that cross, then you know that nothing that you have to endure even begins to compare with the pain He had to sustain on all levels, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. He understands any pain you are sustaining. He has been there. He knows what it is to endure.

But we are also told that Christ endured all this “for the joy that was set before Him.” As He faced His sufferings and death, He looked beyond what He would have to endure to the joy on the other side at the right hand of God. He focused on the victory He and His people would enjoy e HGon the other side of the apparent defeat of the cross and the tomb. Here are our Lord’s words spoken in prophecy:

Psalms 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Is not this exactly what I have been instructing you to do as you endure hardship? Remember that at the end of enduring hardship is the crown of life (James 1:12). This is the incentive to calmly abide the issue of time as you endure the tribulation. Keep your sights set on the outcome. Set the Lord Jehovah always before you as did Jesus. This is also what Moses did and it enabled him to endure his hardships.

Hebrews 11:27 By faith he (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Moses looked beyond the difficulties he could see to the God that he could not see. Moses believed God was there. He believed God’s commandments and acted on them. In that faith he endured all the difficulties that came with a life of obedience to God. And if you know the history of Moses, you know he faced plenty of frustrating circumstances that would make any one want to quit.

The fascinating thing in all of this is that as you take your attention off of the pain you are enduring and bestow it upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be better able to endure the pain. I have found this true in aerobic exercise like running or cycling. If I think about the strenuous activity, and the pain, and how much longer I have to go, I begin to grow weak and the urge to give up increases. But if I am thinking about something else, I find I can keep going. I have found this especially true when I get caught up listening to some lively music. I can just go and go, because my attention is distracted from the exercise to something more uplifting. As so it shall be when you keep your attention fixed on Jesus. In fact, notice that our text instructs us to consider Him “lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." When you become weary, your patience and energy becomes exhausted. When you faint, you are at the point of giving up. The antidote to reaching this point of giving up is considering Him, keeping your attention focused on the Lord Jesus Christ.

So look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider Him. Consider where He was in His hardship and where He is now in His glory. Hang in there. The reward at the end is well worth the struggle.

Endurance, Part 3

I still have more to write about the subject of endurance. I trust you can endure reading more about it. Last week we showed that the endurance that pleases God is endurance with patience. Godly endurance is more than just simply bearing hardship. It is bearing hardship with calmness and composure; it is being able to hold fast our faith and hope without rage or discontent. Those who endure with patience hang on in expectation of God keeping His promises. They endure even when their present circumstances bear down upon them with such pressure that they are tempted to throw away their faith and hope and to just look out for themselves. And while they are hanging on, they do not let the hardness of their present situation make them angry or bitter.

Now the Scripture gives us an excellent example of patient endurance in our father Abraham.

Hebrews 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,

14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Hebrews 6:14 is a quotation of Genesis 22:17, where God promised with an oath to multiply Abraham’s seed after Abraham had offered up Isaac on the mount. The seed that God was speaking of was the seed that would come through Isaac, Abraham’s promised son. Although Abraham had other children, the promises God made in Genesis 22 were realized in Isaac, who was called Abraham’s “only son” (Genesis 22:2; Hebrews 11:17). But this was not the first time that God had promised to multiply Abraham’s seed. God had promised to make Abraham’s seed as numerous “as the dust of the earth” back in Genesis 13:16, just after Abraham parted ways with his nephew Lot. This promise was made to Abraham before he even had a child. Now in Genesis 22:17 God repeats the promise, but this time He confirms it with an oath.

Consider what God promised to Abraham when He promised to multiply his seed.

Multiply – To cause to become much, many, or more; to make many or manifold; to augment the number, amount or quantity of.

God promised to increase the number of Abraham’s seed. God promised Abraham more than one offspring, which is all Abraham had when God made this promise in Genesis 22:17.

At the time when Abraham offered up Isaac, Isaac had no children. Isaac was not even married at this time. Isaac did not marry until he was 40 years old (Genesis 25:20). In fact, when Abraham offered up Isaac, Isaac was still a lad (Genesis 22:5, 12). A lad is a boy or a youth. Isaac was not yet a fully matured man when he was offered up. The Hebrew word rendered lad in Genesis 22 is applied to boys from the age of infancy to adolescence. Adolescence was originally considered as the time of youth from age 14 to 25 in males. So Abraham had not yet seen his seed multiplied, when God made this promise to Him in Genesis 22:17.

Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. When Isaac had his sons, Jacob and Esau, Isaac was 60 years old (Genesis 25:26), which would have made Abraham 160 years old when he had these grandsons. It was at this time that Abraham saw his seed being multiplied. Consider! God promised with an oath to multiply Abraham’s seed when Isaac was but a lad. Now Isaac was 60 years old when he had his twin sons. It was at least 35 years or more that Abraham had to wait before he saw the fulfillment of God’s sworn promise to multiply his seed. So it was after Abraham patiently endured that he obtained the promise. And add to this that God had promised to multiply Abraham’s seed long before Isaac was even born. It was well in excess of 60 years that Abraham had to hold out waiting for God to fulfill His promise. All this time Abraham believed that God would keep that promise. It must have been hard for Abraham to keep believing and hoping during this long time because the Scripture says he endured. Recall that to endure is to bear continuous hardship without giving up. Abraham’s example matches the definition of patience that we saw last week, which is the calm abiding of the issue of time.

Now Paul instructs believers to be followers of this example of faith and patience that we see in Abraham. I have encountered people who will whine about having to endure a hardship for a few months. Some cannot even endure a difficulty for a few weeks. How pitiful! The example we are called to follow is of a man who waited over 60 years for something God had promised him.

Paul instructs us to be “followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Paul commended the Thessalonians for their “patience and faith” in all the persecutions and tribulations they endured. Observe that faith is linked with patience. They go together. The key to greater patience and thus to greater endurance is faith. The more we believe what God tells us, the more we will be able to calmly abide the issue of time. If we are confident that God will do as He has promised, we will be better able to endure whatever hardness comes upon us. Knowing that God will come through for us in the final issue will sustain us through the hardness. Faith was what enabled Abraham to patiently endure.

Romans 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

And so if you are having a problem patiently enduring hardness, check your faith. Follow the example of the apostles of our Lord and pray the same simple prayer that they prayed.

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

And then attend faithfully to the reading, meditation, and hearing of the word of God. God has ordained His word as the means for the increase of faith. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). And Paul stated that his ministry was “for your furtherance and joy of faith” (Philippians 1:25). So when you are reading Paul’s epistles or hearing them expounded, you are doing something designed to further your faith. The more your faith is furthered or advanced, the more patience you will have. You will develop a greater ability to endure hardness with calmness and composure. It is amazing how much a Bible passage can calm you down and enable you to endure when you believe that passage. With greater faith, you will be better able to calmly abide the issue of time. I conclude this week’s meditation with this exhortation:

Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Endurance, Part 2

I wish to continue with the subject of endurance. Let’s recall what it means to endure.

Endure – To last; to suffer continuously. To undergo, bear, sustain (continuous pain, opposition, hardship, or annoyance); properly, to undergo without succumbing or giving way.

Last week we saw that we must endure hardness, if we are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Now enduring hardness is no fun. If it were, we would not be enduring hardness. The fact that we are enduring hardness suggests that the hardness is continuous; it is not letting up as quickly as we might wish. Now this can certainly be wearisome and leave us feeling like we are getting nowhere, because the situation just won’t let up. But, interestingly enough, Scripture has some wonderful things to say about those who endure, those who just keep hanging in there in spite of the difficulty.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Observe that the verse says “blessed is the man.” That little verb is, is in the present tense. If you are enduring a difficulty that is constantly pounding you, you are, right now, a blessed man. It should greatly help you to endure, if you consider that you are blessed for doing so. Your endurance reveals the quality and strength of your character as a Christian. And God assures you - you who endure temptation - that in the end, a crown of life awaits you. Now how is that for an incentive to endure? You see, those who endure gain something. It is not simply an effort in futility. So when you are going through something that is hard and you keep holding fast your faith in God without giving up, just say to yourself, “I am blessed.” Don’t whine and complain, “I am miserable.” Rather affirm, “I am blessed,” because God says you are. And then think about the crown that awaits you.

Then consider this verse:

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

The Greek word that is rendered happy in this verse is related to the word blessed that we saw above in James 1:12. To be happy is to be blessed. Please notice that the happy people are the ones who endure and not always the ones who escape! Now we consider “them happy which endure.” And, if you think about it, we do just this. Do you know people who have endured great difficulty and have come through it with their faith intact and even stronger as a result? Don’t you admire such people and aspire to be like them? If you do, then you are in fact counting “them happy (blessed) which endure.” Happiness does not come from escaping adversities. It comes from growing through adversities. A happy person is one who can look back on a difficult situation and realize he is the better for having gone through it. Such people are indeed overcomers. They are not defeated by the tragedies of life. They are made stronger by them.

In writing about endurance, James mentions the patience of Job. James connects endurance with patience. Now you know what comes next, right? It is the definition of patience.

Patience - The suffering or enduring (of pain, trouble, or evil) with calmness and composure; the quality or capacity of so suffering or enduring. The calm abiding of the issue of time, processes, etc.; quiet and self-possessed waiting for something; ‘the quality of expecting long without rage or discontent.’

Patience is enduring and doing so with calmness and composure, without rage or discontent. It is enduring without losing it. It is keeping the faith and continuing to hope for what God has promised when you feel like giving up. The endurance I am writing about is not simply bare grit, just bearing hardship with no reason or purpose, or bearing hardship just to prove you can take it. It is bearing hardship because God calls upon you to bear it and promises blessing to you for doing so. It is endurance with purpose and with a goal in sight that you are waiting to attain. God is looking for more than just your capacity to endure. He is looking to see how you endure. It is patient endurance that pleases God. This was the kind of endurance demonstrated by the church of the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

These words expressed the esteem that Paul, Silvanus, Timotheus, and the churches of God had for the church at Thessalonica. This church endured persecutions and tribulations with patience and faith. If you are enduring a hardship, something that is continuously bombarding you, and yet you are still holding fast your faith and hope in Christ without giving up, then this is a commendable accomplishment. This is an encouragement to others, yea, it is an occasion for others to glory in you. By so enduring you are giving others a boost. Until next time and even unto the end, hang in there and keep the faith. “Behold, we count them happy which endure.”

Endurance, Part 1

I am thinking today of the subject of endurance. Let’s begin by considering what it means to endure.

Endure – To last; to suffer continuously. To undergo, bear, sustain (continuous pain, opposition, hardship, or annoyance); properly, to undergo without succumbing or giving way.

Endurance is that ability to keep it together in the face of continued hardship, of whatever kind. Put in the context of one’s Christian experience, endurance is being able to be hammered by opposition day after day and yet still hold to one’s faith and maintain one’s obedience to God. It is trusting God even when everything seems to suggest that it is useless to do so.

The capacity to endure is necessary if we are going to be good soldiers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Good soldiers do not give up under pressure. They endure hardness. It is interesting to notice the definition of hardness.

Hardness- The quality or condition of being hard; difficulty of penetration, solution, apprehension, performance, endurance; inflexibility, rigidity, stiffness, harshness; rigour, severity, cruelty; obduracy, obstinacy, hardiness, etc.

Now we can all think of a lot of things we have dealt with that can be described by the words in that definition. It may be a problem that is difficult to understand or that defies a solution; or it may be a tough situation that just will not let up, that has no give in it; or it may be a severe illness; or it may be a stubborn child; or it may be a cruel regime under which we live. Anything we deal with that we describe as hard qualifies as hardness. If we are good soldiers of Christ, we will endure it and not give up because of it. Being a good soldier does not require that we dissolve the hardness or make it go away. Rather, being a good soldier requires that we endure the hardness.

I recall facing a situation in my ministry several years ago that was very difficult to get a handle on and it just would not go away. It had to be dealt with. At times the pressure was so great that I entertained the thought of just giving up my ministry. But I hung in there. Everything did not go as smoothly as I would have liked. It was messy at times. The direction was not always as clear as I wished. But the good Lord gave me just enough to get me through it. Almighty God saved my ministry and the church. One day while reflecting on what had happened, the Lord comforted me with the verse cited above. Even though the problem had been hard to bear, difficult to understand, and tough to solve, I had endured. I came out on the other side still holding my faith and pursuing the ministry that I have received of the Lord Jesus. So at least it could be said that I had endured and, therefore, had been a good soldier. This realization brought me profound peace.

As I deal with this subject, the main thing I want my readers to grasp is this: just enduring hardness is in itself a commendable accomplishment! Now I see this subject is growing into more. So you will have to endure until our next meditation.

Not Knowing

For this week’s meditation I direct your attention to Acts 20:22-24:

Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

As our beloved apostle Paul made his way to Jerusalem, he did so not knowing the things that would happen to him there. He knew that bonds and afflictions awaited him, but as to when, how, or how much those bonds and afflictions would be, he knew not. He did not let it bother him that he knew there would be some tough times ahead. Neither was he bothered by the fact that he did not know the details of the time, manner, and extent of these afflictions that would befall him. As he said: “None of these things move me.” Neither was he moved by the possibility that those afflictions could mean his death, for he did not count his life dear unto himself. People who do not count their life in this world dear to themselves don’t worry about things like people who do set so much on this life. People like Paul know that this life is just a transit to something better. They do not view this as the only life they will ever have. The thing that most concerned Paul was finishing his course with joy and the ministry that he received of the Lord Jesus. Paul was more concerned about doing God’s work than he was with what was going to happen to him. Whenever he came to the end of his life, he wanted to be able to look back and know that he had done all that the Lord had given him to do. And herein Paul set a wonderful example for us.

Like Paul, we know that “afflictions abide us.” The following verses assure us of this.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Acts 14:21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

But as for when, how, and how much these tribulations shall be, we do not know. We are in the same predicament as Paul and the Scriptures tell us as much.

Proverbs 27:1 ¶Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.

This much you can know: there are troublesome times ahead of us. My pastor friend Dr. Larry Lilly wrote the following in his daily letter of 29 September 2008:

The sum total of courageous living has to do with getting over past storms, living through current ones and continuing on in the knowledge that more storms will come. God enters this panorama of life in the storm, walks on the waters of the storms as it were, and we learn that He is there. Walking with the Lord teaches us to trust in the darkest hour, somehow singing though the tears that scald our cheeks.

You do not know the time, the manner, or the extent of your future troubles, but you know they are coming. Does that bother you? If so, why? Are the things that happen to you or may happen to you the things that concern you most? Or are you more concerned about fulfilling the will of God?

So the advice I would pass on to you from this lesson is to stay the course of keeping the commandments of God, which are the will of God for you. Let that be your chief focus as opposed to what may happen in the future. The word of God tells you that you do not know what shall be on the morrow. And the word of God does not instruct you to try to find out. If you hear a voice or see a vision of things coming in the future, rebuke it. Your Bible says you do not know. I would rather have Scriptural ignorance of the future than occult insights into it. You do not need to know the future to know God’s will. All you need to know is that tough times are ahead and that God will see you through them. Your chief concern should be to learn the commandments of God written in your Bible and do them. Like Paul, you can go forth not knowing what shall befall you. It is sufficient that you know the Lord Who knows and Who has promised to be with you as you do His work, which should ever be your chief concern.