You see, it is not talent or gifts or great anything to make it through, it is endurance. The thing we need is simply the ability to make it through. We need the ability to endure.

“³⁶For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” — Hebrews 10:36 (ESV)

Strength to withstand it all. I have to be conscious that I will be challenged and will have times of difficulty. It is in those times that I will need the strength to withstand and make it through. I will need the stamina to finish the race. I will need the desire to accomplish the feat. I will need to endure the challenge and difficulty to receive what is promised.

I have to be careful in how I present my thoughts here. It is not winning that I am referencing here, at least in the sense of becoming the trophy wielding champion that is thought of by enduring. Winning in this sense is making it through to make it to the next opportunity to serve God through the tasks He has for me. I have a role to play and that role may simply be to get things going and just finish my part.

There are a number of analogies that I can make with regard to enduring my part for my reward later. I will go with the one of the pace setters used in races. These pace setters are there to only really get things going. Their job is to be chased in the race so the others have something to work for and are not left to simply do things on their own. These pace setters endure more than they are really capable of to help others. They endure to be rewarded, not by winning the race (in fact, they often don’t even finish) but by driving the speed of the race to create a greater challenge to the others running. They are there to drive the pace to create the opportunity for others to gain. They are rewarded by the times they set the race to take place.

Our endurance in the now will gain reward in the future. There may be times that it may feel as though we do not finish the race in first place, and I have to remember that my role may not be to “win” but to set the pace for others in the challenge. I have a role to play in the overall success of the glory of God and that role in some instances is only to get things started. I have to be willing to endure the work to receive the reward in heaven and not look to this world.

What work are you or have you done that seems to be lacking in reward? Are you looking to win the races you run, all of them? What if you were to endure the work, not for your victory, but the victory of God and then you receive your reward in heaven?

I recently wrote about moving from suffering to endurance to character to hope and that experiencing all of them is going to happen as we are faced with that which comes in service to God. This morning as I continue to study the word “endurance” I was led to a passage in Colossians of thanksgiving and prayer and realized that another characteristic when in service to God that is critical is that of patience.

“⁹And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” — Colossians 1:9-12 (ESV)

Here, Paul is writing to the church in Colosse and is encouraging them in their walk with Christ. He is lifting them up through thanksgiving and prayer and letting them know that he is doing so regularly. In the verses above, especially looking at verse 11, Paul calls out that he is praying for their endurance and patience.

Isn’t it too often that our expectations are for instant and immediate gratification and resolution to everything. I know that when I am looking for answers to questions, the internet has made it possible to get those answers right then and in such, I have satisfied my curiosity. I will say though, thanks to being able to get answers now, I have forgotten the virtue of patience. I have forgotten that waiting calmly for something that does not necessarily come right now is a fruit of the Spirit as listed by Paul to the church in Galatia.

“²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

Patience is listed to remind us that thing do not always happen NOW. I have to remember that patience leads to the others and the others lead to patience. To go along with patience, I also have to remember that it will be uncomfortable and I must have endurance to make it through whatever I am experiencing. I may want for things now, but those things may not be in the plan of God for now and I have to wait patiently and endure all that comes with the waiting.

What are you waiting for and are experiencing less than immediate answers or resolution? Are you demonstrating patience and endurance in your waiting? What if you took the approach that all things are not going to be there NOW and you endure the uncomfortable waiting with patience?

Yes, in service to God endurance is one of the characteristics that is realized.

“⁴but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” — 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 (ESV)

As I read and study this morning I have found, and was reminded, that serving God is not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. There are going to be times when it feels as though the whole world is against me. Just look at the above verses and read all that comes with being a servant of God. Notice the items called out first in verses four and five. It is all that is tough where I/we may feel that there is no way out. And then, there is that which is picked up in verses six and seven which give hope and comfort.

Next I review the final verses above and see the contrasting characteristics one at a time. I am going to experience a wave of characteristics and actions for and against me as I serve God. I will naturally find myself at every moment with those characteristics that are uplifting. I will find myself more in line with the structure of verses eight through ten where I will experience both positive and negative in situations and throughout the day. I have to know that I have chosen to follow and serve God and with that I have chosen all that comes with it.

The thing I have to remember is the first characteristic listed in all of the verses above when it comes to serving God, endurance. In all that I find myself each day, whether positive, negative, or neutral, I have to endure it all as I make it through. God is with me through it all. He only wants what is best for me and that comes in the end when I have made it through all He has for me to do and accomplish. I will have the chance to rest in heaven when I go to be with Him. I only have to embrace the endurance needed to make it through and then experience rest and reward.

What are you experiencing that you may feel are outside of the characteristics of serving God? Are you expecting that all of the experiences you have to be positive and without challenge? What if you simply endured all the characteristics of service to God and only expected rest and reward in heaven?

Jesus is the same as He always was and He will always be.

“⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” — Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

I can have confidence in following Him as I can see the consistency in Him. He was the same in the past as He is today and will be the same into the future. The same God that watched over my ancestors is watching over me and will be watching over my descendants. What a vote of encouragement there is in knowing that God was with me, is with me, and will be with me in all. His consistency demonstrates His endurance in my life and the endurance that I can call on to get me through.

“⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Romans 15:4-6 (ESV)

The verses above come from the passage in my Bible titled: “The Example of Christ”. And that is exactly what it represents, the example I should follow. The endurance He demonstrated in His life is that endurance I should demonstrate in my own. His consistency shows me and teaches and encourages me to continue on. I am able to call on the hope that He represents. I learn from the past and carry that into the future.

Everything from the past is a teacher of the now and the future. I am not one that studies history, and my thought process is one that says it is in the past and there is nothing we can do about it now. Lori reminds me often that it is not that we can change the past, but we can and should be learning from it to avoid the mistakes of the past and carry on the victories. As a history teacher, she is passionate about learning from what has already happened to move forward with today and into tomorrow. Learning from Jesus is no different, and in fact, He is “The Example” of how we should be acting and approaching.

I have a lot to learn and what better place to gain that learning than from the example. The shining example of what right looks like is Christ and his endurance from yesterday to today and into tomorrow.

What are your though about what has already happened? Are you looking at it as something simply in the past that one can move on from? What if you took the chance to review and learn from the past to avoid the mistakes and carry the victories into today and on to tomorrow?

“³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” — Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)

It all starts somewhere and getting to hope is no exception. Getting to hope, starts with suffering. There is difficulty that is going to be a part of all of our lives. And as Christians, that difficulty may feel even more defeating as we feel as though how is that possible with God on our side. And, how could God allow for the difficulty when He is on our side.

Well, God is allowing for the difficulty for what comes between that difficulty and ultimately lands in hope. It is the endurance and character that He is allowing to be built in each of us. I have to learn to endure and that is something that will not come from success and easy going. I have to be tested and have to build the strength to carry on. As noted in the bible that even gold is refined by fire, it does not just exist as we know it, there is work that goes into cleaning it up. And diamonds are created by pressure not just coal lying on the ground and then the diamonds appear.

I have to be tested to develop endurance. I have to endure to reveal my character. The suffering that is in my life is there to provide the fire and pressure that will lead to my reliance and hope in God the Father for all that I am. It is that difficulty that allows me to fight through and make it to the end.

Endurance comes from seeking to overcome. When the difficulty is presented, I have a choice to give in and allow the difficulty to overtake me and lead to my defeat, or I can develop strength to go through the difficulty and make it to the end. In his poem: A Servant to Servants; Robert Frost writes “He says the best way out is always through.” and overseas missionary, Kathryn Long indicated the meaning as: “It means that when you are in any kind of a jam or situation in life, the best way to get out of it is by going through it until you reach the other side of it. It has to do with the notion that we learn from the hard things we get through in life, not from the times when everything is smooth sailing.” https://www.quora.com/What-did-Frost-mean-by-The-best-way-out-is-always-through-in-A-Servant-to-Servants#:~:text=It%20means%20that%20when%20you,when%20everything%20is%20smooth%20sailing.

It is through our sufferings that we gain endurance which leads to our character and ultimately to our hope. It is that hope that we are able to lean on as Christians in this world. I have to remember that the sufferings are temporary and they are for my growth as I press on through to the other side, which is hope.

What are the sufferings you are experiencing today? Are you pressing through them to generate your endurance and character? What if you were to see the suffering as on the starting point in your journey through to hope in the Lord?

As a Christian, I know that I will have trials and difficulties. As far back as in Genesis with Abram, “trials are expected” as preached on this past Sunday. We are told to leave and go to spread the gospel where God would have us go, only to find resistance along the way. Whether it is famine as Abram felt, being chased and coming along a sea to cross as Moses experienced, or persecution in the media for professing the gospel today. Trials in our journey are going to be experienced. Jesus lets us know that even in the face of trials and difficulties, we will survive, thanks to our endurance.

“¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your lives.” — Luke 21:19 (ESV)

God is right there with us through it all. Remember that Jesus did not leave us alone when He went to be with the Father in heaven. He left the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and protect us through all that we would be subjected. To the celebrations, and the tragedies. In victory and defeat. I have the Helper along side me through it all. I will make it through thanks to the Lord and His love and care for me. I have been provided with the endurance to overcome and pass through.

What trials are you experiencing? Are you surprised that you are going through them? What if you were to approach all with the understanding that they were going to be there and that God will provide the endurance to overcome?

Things do not always go as planned. One day I am with and another I am without. Jesus however will never leave, regardless of where I may find myself landing or being.

“⁵Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” — Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)

I am not to be concerned with where I am or what I have, God certainly is not. He is with me in all times. I can have it all and He is celebrating with me. I can be completely broken down and He is picking me up. God never leaves me on my own.

I know that I forget that God is there with me, and in my forgetting I find myself pleading to have Him there when things seem to not be going as planned. I have this sense that I have to call on Him to show up and fix it for me. I have this idea that I somehow now “need His help”. Where was my calling on Him when things were going well? What about when things were just going? I have to remember that regardless of where I am, God is there with me and will never leave. I do not need to call on Him so that He will know to come and help. Hes is always there and I only need to acknowledge Him.

God is there in the good times and in the bad. In the good times I don’t realize His presence as I am out there doing well and don’t need Him. Why don’t I need Him, I should be calling on Him to celebrate with me and know that He did not just help me through when times were tough, but He is there and guided me through the winning moments, even where there was little to no challenge in the victory.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, God is with me. He will never leave me, regardless of the circumstances or where I might be. I need only be content with where I am and what I have as God knows and provides just what I need, in the time I need it.

What view of God’s presence in your life are you aware? Are you finding yourself calling on Him and/or recognizing Him only in those times when you “need” Him? What if you were content in your place and know that God is with you always and will never leave?

“³¹Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” — Ephesians 5:31 (ESV)

I have seen this verse before in my study of “leave” and that was just a few days ago in Genesis. I wrote to “Leave to move forward with another”. I was speaking of pursuing your wife and leaving your family behind to devote yourself to her. Here I am looking at it again and see something else that I thought was of note, becoming one.

This concept of becoming one seems to be counter to a society that speaks to individualism. If I am to become one with another, how is it that I am an individual? I understand the question, and when you look at things from only one perspective, it is something that may be a bit counter. I hold that it is indeed not counter to society in that being one with another is having the same values and approach and understanding as the other, not that you and the other cannot be different.

Lori and I are very different people. She is outgoing and enthusiastic and loves to be in the thick of things. I on the other hand like solitude and quiet. We are however one in that we are headed in the same direction. We decide together on those things that are of importance. We go together as opposed to separately. We support one another in all that we strive to accomplish. We are one.

I encourage Lori to take time for herself and do those things that she wants to do, and she does the same with and for me. I want her to be her and enjoy the things she enjoys. I need that time as well. But, when it comes to our values and direction we are one. Our church home changed, not by one of us, but both. Our drive for our boys and their study and college of choice was of the same accord. Our care for those around us is aligned and we are one in those actions.

I left my family to become one with Lori, and she did the same for me. We press forward as one unit in those areas that are of importance to the two of us. We are still individuals and we would not take that away from either of us as that is what gives us the ability to see things from different angles and adds to the alignment in decision making.

What were the reasons for your leaving with your husband or wife? Are you aligned, or are you clinging to the idea of being an individual? What if you looked to be one with each other and allowed your differences to show the other angle to aid in moving the right direction for the one that is the two of you?

I will admit that there are times when I feel all alone in this world and in my work for God. I feel as though I am fighting the uphill battle each day with little to no guidance or acknowledgment that I am even heading in the right direction.

“¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will beg in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” — John 14:16-19 (ESV)

Jesus left this world, yes, but He did not leave us alone in this world. I have to remember that God provided the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide and direct me. When things are the toughest, the Holy Spirit is there to pick me up and give me the strength to persevere. I may not feel as though I am getting help to make it through, but I do make it through and have to remember that it was the Holy Spirit that gave me just enough. I don’t need reserves to indicated that I had enough to make it, I need just enough and that is was I am provided.

“²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” — John 14:26-27 (ESV)

Jesus left, yes, but He does not leave us here alone. The Holy Spirit was summoned to provide the guidance we need. Providing teaching and strength to persevere through all that comes our way. I have to remember that I am not alone and have the Helper here to do just that, help me in doing the work for God.

Jesus will be back as He says there in verse 18. He did not leave us here and forget about us. He will return and take us home with Him. In the mean time, the Helper, the Holy Spirit is here for me to lean on when I need. Whether in those times of difficulty or even in those times of joy. The Holy Spirit is there for me to guide and comfort me in all that I do. Giving me just enough to make it through and on to the next that God has in store for me.

What do you feel as though you are out there all alone attempting to accomplish? Are you really out there going it alone? What if you stepped back to realize that the Helper is there, provided by God, so that we are not alone, and that Helper is there to provide just enough for us to make it through?

Marriage is for the lifetime. When one marries, that union is meant for the lifetime, “til death do us part”. Oh how great it would be if that were the prevailing sentiment in society. Man leaves his family to be with his wife for the duration of his life and the wife is to devote herself to her husband for that same timeline.

“³And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ ⁴He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? ⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” — Matthew 19:3-6 (ESV)

Marriage is a bind for a lifetime and one shall not leave that union. Where love is nothing else can separate. When there is love and compassion and understanding, there is a desire to continue and fight.

I will be the first to admit that not every day is all roses, butterflies, and rainbows with my wife Lori, and I know that she will say the same thing. There are days that we just do not like each other very much. The thing is, those are moments in time and there is no loss of love. Our union was built on Christ and love and those never fail. One moment in time does not trump a lifetime. There has not been a legitimate reason to do away with our love based on a moment in time.

When there is a union between two, that union is for a lifetime and should be honored as such. “Thou shalt not leave” should be the rallying cry for all in a lifetime relationship with another.

When you are looking at your relationship with your spouse, what timeline are you looking at for the relationship? Are you looking at the moments in time? What if you were to approach from the view of lifetime union and took the mantra of “Thou shalt not leave”?