Hebrews 10:36- For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. 
Last fall, I wrote about settling for less than God’s best when we simply manage our pain instead of pressing on for the breakthrough. In this issue let’s take a look at our need for endurance to not only cross over, but to increase enough to occupy the promises of God. (see http://healingwings.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/wilderness-or-promised-land-the-danger-of-managing-our-stuff/)
Moses, nearing the end of his life, had commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into their inheritance. With the Promised Land tangibly in sight, God first tells Joshua the outcome, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you… no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (Joshua 1:3 & 5). Next God commands Joshua four times to “be strong and of good courage.” The Hebrew word for “be strong” is chazaq, which literally means to be established, fortified and firm. The term, “be of good courage” is the Hebrew word amats, and it means to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, stout, bold, solid, be determined, to persist in and to strengthen oneself.
It wasn’t enough to just know the outcome. Before the Israelites could occupy Canaan, there was an important process that required establishing those things God had promised in order to secure their inheritance. God knew this process would require courage, bravery and endurance. God was saying, now pay attention to this for it is very important. I will create the breakthrough in enemy territory; I will deliver the enemy into your hands; but you must increase enough to occupy each place where I give you victory. You must press on until it is finished. You will need faith, strength and perseverance to completely secure that which I have promised you.
As Believers, we have been given power and authority in Jesus Christ to demolish strongholds and bind up the enemy. We don’t lose a fight because we lack power and authority; it’s usually because we don’t have the endurance to stay in the battle long enough to secure the victory.
The first century disciples understood the need for endurance! To endure something doesn’t mean you just “hold on until it’s over…” It isn’t the same word as cope and it has nothing to do with resigning yourself to your circumstances. In fact there is nothing passive about enduring. It is an active word full of energetic resistance to the possibility of defeat. It is a word of substance that enables you to bear up against adversity, stand firm and persevere under stress and pressure, and wait hopefully with courage.
I was amazed to discover how many places in the NT where the word endurance is used interchangeably with the word patience. This is not the fruit of the Spirit called “longsuffering”, but the Greek word hupomene, which hopefully expects and actively resists weariness and defeat.
So how do we build endurance?
1. First realize the trials and battles we experience become the training ground to develop this kind of fortitude. Endurance can only be established when we have something to endure. The “testing” of our faith produces endurance. And endurance must finish its work in us so we’ll be complete and lack nothing (see James 1:3-4). Therefore we count it joy, not because of our problems, but because these problems are helping to build enough stamina to go the distance! Athletes know the importance of training for endurance. If you sign up to run a marathon, you can’t just show up on the day of the race. No! First you have to go into strict training so you not only run the race, but you finish the race as well! While training, every choice you make is weighed against the goal to finish strong. If we don’t have this kind of training to step into our destiny, then we probably won’t have the character to keep us there. It is perseverance and endurance that builds the muscle in order to be strong enough to occupy each new territory God brings us in to.
2. Paul exhorts us to lay aside every weight that would hold us back! Hebrews 12:1…let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us so we can run with endurance the race marked out for us. A runner may train with weight, but once they enter the race, they cast off anything that would restrain them so they run in freedom!
This means the wounds in your heart that have not been healed; this means offenses that have not been dealt with and forgiveness that needs to be extended so that there is no crimp in the “lifeline.”
I have dealt with three physical injuries in the past twelve months. These injuries have kept me from working out at the gym as aggressively as I need in order to be in shape. In the same way, injuries to our soul will keep us from moving forward, because our energy and focus winds up being spent on “nursing” our wounds.
3. We need to remember Jesus has already gone before us in this “race” and marked it out for us! And when He finished the race, He “sat down” (as a symbol of completion) at the right hand of the throne of God. He has already run this race with intentionality as well as joy. Have you ever wondered what that joy was that enabled Him to endure the cross? My friend, you were that joy. You were on His mind as He ran the race for humanity and endured the cross for your eternity! When your circumstances seem too hard to bear, remember that the One who is able to help you finish is the same One who marked out the race in the first place. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not lose heart and finish strong!
4. Lastly, recognize that all training is profitable! So understand from this point on that every frustration and difficult circumstance, every obstacle in your path is a sacred opportunity to train for endurance! It may not seem like you are making progress, but it really is building substance within you. Last Christmas Eve as I sat in church, the Father and I had a good conversation. It went something like this: “Father, please forgive me for always focusing on circumstantial things instead of on the resources and power available to me in YOU. How long God before I get this down????” He responded, “Debbie, every time you choose me over your circumstances, there is a deposit made in your life that shortens the learning curve. You will get this!”
I recently read a story of a young boy whose father was remodeling their home. There was a section of concrete that needed to be broken up and hauled away, so the dad handed his son a heavy sledge hammer and told him to get busy.
“I swung the heavy hammer over head and came down as hard as I could, hitting the concrete with a thud! Much to my surprise, nothing happened; there was only a small scratch that could be seen. I swung the hammer back and let it fly again, and came up with the same result – nothing! This stuff was hard, and it seemed to resist every one of my hearty attempts. I hit it again, and again, and again. Before long sweat began to run off my forehead and into my eyes which made them sting. My energy level was now just about gone and my muscles began to ache. Disheartened, I sat down and felt like giving up. It wasn’t long before my Dad came walking by, encouraging me to keep going, assuring me that eventually it would break if I would just continue to hit it!
“At this point I was feeling real sorry for myself, and I was convinced I was not up to the task. It just seemed that it was way too hard for me. I was hot, sweaty and very discouraged, but I stood up, lifted the hammer and began to go at it once more. However, after many repeated blows I grew weary, my strength was spent, and my arms were sore. With great frustration, I sat down and felt like quitting, but as chance would have it, my Dad came by and convinced me to get up and continue the task. So reluctantly, I once again began to repeat the process that I felt was so futile. Only this time as I hit it, some small hairline cracks appeared – something was finally happening that I could see. With renewed vigor and strength, I began to pound away. Then it happened – it began to shatter into small chunks that could be lifted out and placed into the wheelbarrow to be hauled away!”
History is filled with people who quit too soon or stopped just short of their breakthrough. We need to keep on until it is done! You never know, tomorrow might be your D-day!
If you missed the previous article on “WILDERNESS OR PROMISED LAND… the danger of “managing” our stuff” click here
ught in a riptide, the best advice is to swim with the current, parallel to shore. Do not under any circumstance panic and attempt to swim to shore, because you’ll ultimately wear yourself out and drown. The enemy is producing “riptide” like circumstances in our daily lives, and we are trying to deal with them in our own strength. We are wearing down and burning out as we struggle for survival against the riptides of life. I, for one, am guilty of trying to get through the constant challenges of life in my own strength. Last year left me burnt out and out of alignment with the Lord. As I have progressed through this year, I still find myself at times wondering why my life “feels” so out of control. That’s how a riptide will make you feel—powerless, with no control; as hard as we fight to live, the circumstances seem to be overpowering us and driving us further into dangerous waters!
The Chaplain told us with a grin, “I’m not letting you pray for me!”
