Endurance...

I woke up at 2:45 am having a very vivid dream...God showed me in my dream three things that are distractions for me--things that keep me from following Him.  I don't need to share here what they are, but the point He made clear is endurance. 

 

We have to press on, to finish the race to be able to see God face-to-face.  I know I want to hear (in my ever striving state of seeking approval--that is another issue) from Him, "Well done."  Not "You screwed up a bunch of times"...well, I have but am so thankful for His grace.

 

Verses brought to mind (THIS is why knowing His Word is important, so it can be brought to your mind via the Holy Spirt...just saying):

 

James 1:2-4 (NASV)

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endruance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

 

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASV)

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us (the preceding chapter is the Faith Hall of Fame), 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 perfector 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.  For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

 

Not losing heart is what endurance is all about...what are the things you are facing that make you lose heart?

 

The things I have faced in the past couple of years have caused me to ALMOST lose heart, but God is faithful and He doesn't let go of us!! 

 

When I faced the tiny white casket holding my beautiful baby boy, I pressed into God as hard as I could.  I did not lose heart or grow weary.  I knew that God was the ONLY hope I had and that I had to believe that He is God or else just crawl up in there with my son myself.   Yes, my heart was broken, but it had hope and faith.   I had to believe God had a plan or else I would have given up.  Even so, the grief is overwhelming and the aches to hold him are real.  How could God do this was never a question, but what is God doing was (and is) a daily question in our lives.

 

Thus, endurance...we can't give up early or else will miss what God is doing.  He knits together our lives before we are born.  He has purpose in each second.  Why would we want to miss out on that by tossing in the towel early?

 

Consider Christ.  He gave up EVERYTHING to come to earth, be a human, and die a human.  But God certainly had a plan for His life...our redemption and our relationship with Him.  Don't want to miss a second of that!

 

Endure, my friends, endure.