You have need for endurance. Hebrews 10:36
In my head, I hear this verse a lot lately. Mostly when I’m trying to get something done and encountering resistance when the urge is to find an easier way or leave it half-finished. and add to the pile of stuff waiting for me in the corner.
You do, we, I need to find the way of endurance.
I hear it and so do you -- the pile of unfinished well-intended things tells us.
The old sage Paul says it this way...the path is the way of endurance. 1 Corinthians 10:13 BLT [1]
Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity of a marathon runner's endurance.
Endurance is tested, or proven, or developed when everything inside you screams “I want out now!” and we stick to the task before us to the end.
The strange thing is, we think we can endure in a hurry.
The way of endurance is to go slow - as a style of living. Hurry, busyness, speed kill the will to endure.
The undisciplined rush quickly to fantasy, the allure of stimulation, or to the fast burn of desire.
Selfish impatience in a hurry turns love into a self-seeking activity.
A mind out of control never sits still long enough to hear the voice of God.
In dark times we frequently pursue frenzied quick fixes.
And we are in dark times. What if this present darkness continues for ten or twenty years? Each year compounding the fear factor and the loss of personal freedoms.
\"Go slow - or \"go slower.\"
“Go slow” implies action, personal responsibility, and engagement -- the opposite of passivity which prevails in many of our lives.
Endurance is a “go slow” character trait -- we make a promise and keep it through to the end.
Get your arms around living within your means, and seeing it all the way through -- day by day, rain or shine.
Most any ordinary, mundane, everyday task calls us to endure; i.e. “do it” - in a complete and comprehensive way.
God is calling me out -- and you out: we have need for endurance! He is calling our families, church, and our nation to pursue the Way of Endurance.
It gets darker as winter comes upon us, as the media turns the screws, politics pursues agendas, our world spins more and more out of control -- dark times for sure.
Yes, in dark times we frequently pursue frenzied quick fixes. Our families need us to be enduring men who hold the line, finish the task, and run long.
If not now, when?
Pray
God, I’m in such a hurry. I feel like I can’t slow down! Help me at least to slow down to a sustainable pace. I’m tired of putting things off, leaving a legacy of unfinished projects, or giving in to the fast burn of desire. Help me follow the way of endurance and hold me to it - don’t let me weasel out of it this time. Amen
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