Endurance Part 1

ENDURANCE
Vineyard Church NW - Jody Burgin

Endurance is associated with the physical stamina required for a race. However, the habit of endurance is much deeper than physical stamina. It includes the strength that comes from vital connection with God and others. As we draw closer to God, his unfathomable love and power is released into our lives. This enablement not only helps us to withstand the stress and strain of life, but equips us to persistently give our best to everything we do.



To endure is to tenaciously hold on until a goal is accomplished. The believer’s hope is that by enduring hardship, he will experience a greater measure of spiritual power in this life as well as rewards in Heaven. Jacob clung to the angel and declared, “I will not let you go until you bless me!” God not only blessed him but affirmed, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28). His perseverance grew from his hope of God’s blessing.


ENDURANCE vs. Discouragement
The inward strength to withstand stress and give my best to everything I do.



“I will…”



not waste my time, energy, and talent on meaningless pursuits.
accept both instruction and correction.
put my whole heart into everything I do.
bend instead of break.
not be a “quitter.”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25



Oysters are fascinating shellfish. Once in a while an irritating object, such as a grain of sand, gets under the shell of the oyster and works its way to the soft flesh inside. To relieve the irritation, the oyster secretes a smooth substance that coats the grain of sand. Layer upon layer of this coating is added until at last the bothersome spec becomes a pearl. Pearls, then, are simply victories over irritations.



What is true of a precious pearl can be true for us if we use the same method. We can all produce pearls as we endure the irritations of life. A series of smooth words and actions, a little here and little there, offered with patience and love, work miracles. It comes in the form of the love and acceptance we always receive from vital connection with God and others. And when we offer our own patience and willingness to wait on God, we become more valuable to ourselves and others.



In a dark moment of his life, Hudson Taylor wrote:



“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies – whether it comes between you and God or whether it presses you nearer his heart.”



Feeling the irritating pressure of “sand in the shell” today? Beginning the week with the “I’m going to crawl into my shell” blues? As you pray today, shift the load from your shoulders to God’s. He can handle it. He cares about you. Turn this quiet time of devotion into a pressure-release experience, allowing God’s love and mercy to coat the irritations. And get ready to harvest some new pearls.



Dear Lord, help me use limitations and rough spots as opportunities for your work in my life to conform me more to the image of your Son