“But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” Matthew 24:13

Some thoughts on the topic of endurance

Don’t you just love it when a theme keeps popping up in your life, in every conversation, everything you read or listen to? I have never heard an audible voice from the Lord, but when I start hearing the same words from a dozen different directions, I believe that the Lord is using those sources to get my attention.

The specific word or at least the idea of endurance has come up in my life in a million different ways lately. On the lips of friends, in daily Bible readings, and even in my email inbox!

Endurance is also something that’s been in great demand and short supply around the world in the last few weeks, as we’ve all grown impatient for life (or at least certain aspects of it) to return to normal. Many seem to be nearing the breaking point with stress, joblessness, sickness, or sheer boredom. 

We know precious little about how to deal with pandemics that generally only roll around maybe once in any given lifetime. But it’s important to protect the vulnerable as best we can. And the current information on how best to do that has us doing hard things. For a long time. Amazingly, I’ve seen people questioning whether saving lives is worth enduring these hardships.

It seems like I hear a lot of people saying, “I’m just SO “done” with this or that…

Okay, I guess I’ve heard myself say it maybe a couple of times too.

Endurance is called for in our present situation, but also in spiritual matters and throughout our lives here on earth. And the stakes go beyond this mortal life.

Merriam-Webster’s definition of endurance is “the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially : the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.”

You gotta have faith.

Pretty much everything about the Christian life involves endurance. Think about some of the members of the “Hall of Faith” mentioned in Hebrews 11. God told Noah it was going to rain (for the first time ever…). So Noah kept on believing what God promised while building the ark for perhaps 70 years (!) before the flood happened. (We won’t even talk about the not-brief stint on the ark with all the family and representatives from the entire animal kingdom.) Abraham shows us another example of enduring faith. God told Abraham that he would father a great nation, and twenty-five years later the child of that promise was born. Twenty. Five. Years. Later. 

Hebrews 11 also credits Moses with a faith which certainly involved endurance. God called him to be a spokesperson for his enslaved people, even though Moses felt unqualified for the job. The Promised Land came into view after ten plagues on the Egyptians and forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and even then Moses was unable to enter it. But he endured in the midst of many whose belief waned or disappeared entirely, and who often directed their grievances at him.

Wait just a minute…

In times of waiting on the Lord, I all too often find I can readily identify with the whining, complaining Israelites. Waiting for twenty-five minutes, let alone twenty-five years seems like a long time in our instant-streaming, no-waiting generation.

I believe much sin originates from a lack of endurance. When the going gets tough, and ESPECIALLY when we’re called upon to wait, and perhaps walk through difficulty, we often falter. Jesus promises that in this world we will have troubles (John 16:33). And some of those troubles don’t go away for a long time, if at all. Without endurance, we may be tempted to turn to whatever may lessen the pain and waiting, be it people, pleasure, or substances.

So HOW do we go about enduring? Staying the course? Pressing on toward the mark? 

I think the answer (like the answer to most things) is found in scripture. 

We take things one step at a time.

Jesus asked the Father to “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) Notice he didn’t say “Give us a week’s worth, so we won’t have to worry for a while.” Also in Matthew (6:34), he says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I feel like this one was written especially for me.

Knit one, purl one…

On occasion I’ve discovered lessons in my life that help me see this principle clearly. Knitting is one. I’ve always wanted to knit. I pretend-knitted blankets when I was a kid. But since no one in my life knew how to knit, learning seemed impossible. Then after having my own children who were “knit in my womb” by our Heavenly Father (see Psalm 139:14), I found a book that broke down stitches step by step, with really good pictures. I slowly trained my fingers to do a knit stitch.

At first, it seemed like completing a row of knitting—nevermind a whole project—would take forever. But slowly, surely, one stitch at a time, I knit scarves for every member of my long-suffering family. It was a revelation to me how small steps added together again and again and again can accomplish something of value. In the end, the lesson was much more valuable than the scarves.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Running is another such lesson. One of my favorite verses on which I often meditate when I run is Hebrews 12:1-2. “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

At 40, I ran my first (and only) half marathon. I discovered that what seemed impossible to me before (running more than 3-4 miles at a time) was just a matter of a lot of steps put together—and daily dedication, sweat, and training. And I can assure you I didn’t run with speed or style, but definitely endurance.

One day at a time…

My latest lesson is a much more painful one. I have a friend who is suffering from a degenerative terminal illness. Her cheerful attitude has amazed me from day one. I asked her one day how in the world she was coping with all the changes, and she answered simply, “One day at a time.” I’m learning from her what some real, gritty endurance looks like, and seeing God’s goodness in the midst of it.

I think our flesh wants to run ahead and take a sneak peak at what’s coming. To open the gifts before the big day. To skip to the end of the book. But each day DOES have enough trouble of its own. However, the Lord’s mercies are new every morning–hallelujah! (see Lamentations 3:23). Endurance involves taking each step as it comes, and then basking in those mercies.

We keep on keeping on.

Back to Hebrews 12, in verse 3-4 we are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice, and encouraged to not give up:  “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” God is not asking us to do anything that is beyond what we can do with the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

God himself is our example. The “steadfast” or enduring love of the Lord comes up numerous times in the Psalms and throughout the Bible, and ultimately at the cross. I did not count, but a quick Google search told me there were more than a couple of hundred references that use the word steadfast or one of its synonyms.

A quick, unscientific analysis tells us that this word that occurs across many of the English translations of the Bible is a cousin to the words “steady” and “fast.” Those terms bring up images of unchangeability and “not-letting-go.” Depending on the verse, you may sometimes find steadfast and enduring filling the same role in different translations. Essentially, in commanding us to endure, God is telling us to be like Him, with His help.

The Psalmist says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51) This should be our prayer. That this divine aspect should grow within us. And that through the Holy Spirit our faith may not waver, and will allow us to keep working until the Lord returns or takes us home.

And we fix our eyes on Jesus.

There are SO many shiny objects to grab our attention in the world these days. We can shop till we drop and binge watch without ceasing. And there is SO. MUCH. NOISE. Furthermore, we can work ourselves to death in the effort to maintain our lifestyles, which are so prone to vain pursuits. The tendency for us to be carried along on this tide of noise and busyness is Satan’s best tool in my opinion, to keep us from maintaining focus on the one true God. 

We desperately need to spend quiet time in His Word. Also I’m finding great encouragement from sharing regular time in his word with other like-minded women. And we need to connect with Him through prayer and worship, asking Him to be the source as well as the object of our endurance.

Consider it done.

In some of His last words to His disciples before he was to be crucified, Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Notice He speaks in the present perfect tense. In other words he’s speaking of action that’s already completed. It’s a little bit like when I was writing English papers in college and had to speak in the “eternal present” about works of art.

There are many such instances of Jesus and the prophets speaking in a similar manner, but for a much more important reason than that of the Bible as literature: Truth from the Lord is true now—today. What God says will happen in the future is as good as done, no matter how long and difficult the waiting may be.

We can trust Him for help in all things. And rest in the assurance that He can not only sustain us, but give us joy for the journey. I hope you (and I) find this truth a great encouragement to keep running with endurance.

Blessings,