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.
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