In Need of Endurance

Last night we talked with friends about having an eternal perspective, about focusing on things that last forever. This morning, ENDURE seemed a good word to check out as it applies to the character and will of God. The first thing I noticed is that half the times this word appears in the English OT, it is not there in Hebrew. That is, the words “steadfast love endures forever” read as “loyal love forever” in Hebrew suggesting that anyone who can be like that has endurance!

The other thing God revealed is that endurance is related to His existence, to the quality of who He is. It comes out in various verses that use “endure forever” about His name, glory, and what He does. All of that lasts because God has no ending; He endures forever.

A similar word for endure means to stand, or to remain in force. It describes His righteousness and praise:

(Psalm 111:3) Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

(Psalm 111:10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

The main thought I have about endurance comes out better in the NT with the idea of “persistence, refusing to stop, pressing on.” The supreme example is Jesus at Calvary:

(Hebrews 12:2-3) looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Jesus demonstrated this quality as a boy too. The same word is used when He “stayed behind” in Jerusalem and His parents finally missed Him and had to look for Him. His response was, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” indicating that an act of obedience to the Father requires this endurance also. This boy refused to carry on as usual and instead ‘pressed on’ to obey the call of His Father on His life. (Luke 2:43)

Endurance is needed also for much stronger and more difficult situations. It can be for the sake of others. Just as Jesus endured the cross, God also endures the sinful activities of those who do not know Him:

(Romans 9:22) What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The two verses that strongly apply to my life regarding endurance are God’s call for me to endure like He endures. To be like Jesus, 1 Peter 2:20 tells me:

For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

This is challenging, especially these days when we have done something right and been harshly treated as a result. Yet the Lord says in Romans 12:12 that I must “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” which calls for faith in Him and total reliance on His Spirit. I cannot endure much of anything without the amazing endurance of the Lord.