Endurance part 1
It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that particular piece of wisdom. Along with nuggets like, "It came to pass, not to stay." Or, "Tough times don't last, but tough people do." Well, here's the thing, and this is directly from Rocky Balboa, "No one will hit you harder than life itself. It doesn't matter how hard you hit back. It's about how much you can take, and keep fighting. How much you can suffer and keep moving forward. That's how you win." Or, as Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Now there's something very important to notice there. "In me." In HIM we have good cheer. HE has overcome the world, and that's what makes us overcomers. It's not about what we can do. It's about what He has done already. And what He is doing right now in us, and through us, and as us. Look at 2 Thessalonians 3:5, which I think is going to be my key verse for this Rant series, "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." I like it even better in the Message Bible, "May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God's love and Christ's endurance." Here's the deal: Love never fails... because love endures. Love takes a licking and keeps on ticking, if I can say it that way. That's why sometimes I talk about how I know for a fact that heart ache is a real thing, but I think maybe the heart is too strong to every truly break. Think about it, you have survived 100% of the things life has thrown at you. Your worst day ever... didn't beat you. Because you're still here. Still strong. Still standing. Nobody can hit harder than life. But now watch this: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). Life hits hard. But Jesus... God... LOVE... hold you up! God takes you by the hand and directs your heart into His love. Into Christ's endurance. Listen, I will never say God wants you to be, or stay, in a bad situation. He gives us patience. He gives us longsuffering. Those fruits of the Spirit, so that we can endure what we have to go through. Because some things you just plain straight have to go through. So you can learn and grow. So you can come out the other side. And then you can help someone else when they go through the same thing. Because we all go through the same things. This human experience is very personal, but it's also pretty universal. We're all just trying to make it from the start of the day to the end of the day. And that can be hard. But it's not impossible. If you go down swinging you might not go down at all. If you let love fight your battles (and defend you), you'll be ok. If you let the God who is love live in you, and through you, and as you... you'll be able to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love! You'll be able to run the race with patience. Take everything that's thrown at you and make something good out of it. You'll be able to endure. To win!