Endure or Bolt?
By Kris Belfils
Have you ever
waited for something you really wanted and in the middle of the
wait you decided it was taking too long and you bolted? Maybe
you've gone through a hardship and decided to leave because you
felt you didn't need to deal with it. I know of several times in
my life I've done just that. Waiting is a hard thing to do,
especially when you don't see any results of your waiting.
Waiting requires endurance. Endurance shows our character. How
do we respond in hardships? What is the first thing you do when
you are tried or tested? Do you whine and complain about the
situation you are in? Is the first thing in your heart anger
towards God for letting the trial come?
Take a ring, or a small item like a pebble, and place it in one
of your hands. Curve your fingers around it as if you were
making a loose fist. You are the ring or pebble and God is your
hand. Nothing comes to the ring/pebble without His hand allowing
it to come. Often times we don't understand why we have to go
through hardship. We can find in the epistle of James some
answers.
James 1:2 4 (HCSB)
"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you
may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
How can we consider a trial a "joy?" In order to really
understand these verses we have to look deeper than the first
few words. We can see that trials test our faith. It would be
one thing if God created us all to be robots walking around on
this earth just doing the commands He programs in our memory. We
wouldn't need faith for that. But, God created us with our own
free-will and this allows us to make choices. These choices can
be good or bad. God wants us to see and know what we believe. He
wants us to call on Him for help and guidance. He wants us to
see our need for Him. The more we need God, the more our faith
builds up in us! In other words, when we call out to God in our
need, and He answers, our faith is built up. Even when we wait
for the answer, this builds our faith. There is power in
waiting. I like how the Bible in basic English puts it:
Romans 5:3 5 (BBC)
"And not only so, but let us have joy in our troubles: in the
knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting; And
waiting gives experience; and experience, hope: And hope does
not put to shame; because our hearts are full of the love of God
through the Holy Spirit which is given to us."
The "power of waiting" is endurance. It is patience. Whenever we
have to wait for something, we have to endure. Be it a little
thing like waiting in line at a store, or a big thing like
waiting for God to answer our prayers; it requires endurance. We
know that "good things come to those that wait." I am not sure
where that saying originated from, but it is true when it comes
to endurance. We are given a reward for our endurance.
We can see in James 1:2 - 4 that the testing of our faith
produces endurance. Endurance and patience are interchangeable.
They both mean each other. God wants us to become mature sons
and daughters. He doesn't want us to stay young in our thinking
and in our reactions. When we were just learning to walk and
talk, the first thing out of our mouth was, "MINE!" Baby's are
born selfish. They cry when they need changing, they get angry
when they don't get fed on time. You never have to teach a baby
to be stingy. But you always have to teach them how to share,
play nicely with others, and to think of others more than
themselves. This is in the natural and it is the same for the
spiritual.
When we first become a Christian and ask Christ into our heart
as Lord and Savior, we are babies. We have to learn how to walk
in the Lord. We have to learn God's will instead of our will. We
have to learn endurance.
Endurance means (Strong's #5281): "Constancy, perseverance,
continuance, bearing up, patient endurance. It is the capacity
to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a
passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively
resists weariness, and defeat."
Hebrew 10:36 (NKJV)
"For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the
will of God, you may receive the promise."
There is always a reward for enduring. I teach guitar to many
students. The biggest complaint is that it is hard work to play
the guitar. They have to practice throughout the week to be able
to come back to me and have a lesson to progress into the next
lesson and eventually to be a good guitarist. Some of my
students were expecting to just pick up the guitar and be able
to play. This never happens. A great guitarist has many many
years of practice behind them and it show with the reward of
playing the guitar well. This is a small example of endurance,
but I think you get the idea.
What are you going through right now? Do you have what it takes
to endure?
We have to remember it is not what we go through, but how we go
through it. Often I find myself in a circumstance I hate being
in. Ultimately, my character, and what I am really made of,
comes to the surface.
God wants you to see your character and respond accordingly. We
have to remember who we are in Christ. We are warriors! We are
overcomers! We have resources to grab a hold of inside of us to
help us stand as we go through the fire. But just think of the
silver that is coming out in the middle of this refining fire
process in your life! God gives you grace to endure. Endurance
is staying even under pressure. Endurance is the ability or
power to bear prolonged exertion, pain, or hardship. It is the
active, energetic resistance to defeat that allows calm and
brave endurance. This will bring spiritual maturity, and we
won't bolt again!
I have a bracelet that says, "Endurance" on it and I wear it
whenever I need to remind myself to endure and not bolt. Find
something you can do to remind yourself to "keep on keeping on"
when the going gets hard. We are over comers and we will endure
and become mature, lacking nothing in Christ!
Kris Belfils is an Author, Pastor, Singer/Songwriter,
Speaker, and Worship Leader. She has a passion to see people
transformed and set free. Her newest book, "The Garbage Man
Always Comes On Fridays," is a powerful tool to help others
overcome their past.
www.krisbelfils.com
