Tag: endurance
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Do Not Fall Out by the Way – Genesis 45:23-24
Genesis 45:23, 24 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye…
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It Came to Pass – Genesis 8:5-6
Genesis 8:5-6 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass… I love that phrase. It came to pass. It did not come to stay. That storm which had seemed endless came…
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Silence on the Waters – Genesis 7:24
Genesis 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. One verse. That is all we are given here. One verse that tells us the waters kept prevailing for one hundred and fifty days. No fresh word from heaven. No new instruction recorded. No reassuring explanation. Just the long steady reality…
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When the Cloud Appears – Revelation 14:14
Revelation 14:14 to 16 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on…
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Steady Through the Pressure – Revelation 14:12
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. This is the word for those who come to Christ during the Tribulation through the witness of the 144,000, the angels, and the two witnesses in Jerusalem. The word is simple. Be…
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A Safe Landing – 1 Peter 1:6
1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. Peter is not talking lightly here. When he says heaviness, he is not brushing off their pain or telling them to pretend everything is fine. He is talking about real sorrow, real pressure,…
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The End of the Lord – James 5:10, 11
James 5:10, 11 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful,…
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Hold Steady – James 5:7, 8
James 5:7, 8 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Now James…
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The Crown After the Trial – James 1:12
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Most people do not think much about crowns right now. We think about getting through the week. Paying bills. Making it through the trial…
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The Same Storm, Two Purposes – James 1:2
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. James opens this letter with a line that sounds almost impossible at first hearing. Joy? In the middle of trials? That does not feel natural. It does not even feel reasonable. Most of us would have written, “Endure it,” or, “Survive…
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When Your Mind Starts to Give Way – Hebrews 12:3
Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. There is a kind of exhaustion that has nothing to do with muscles or sleep. It settles in the mind. It comes when pressure keeps building, when people keep resisting, when the road…
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Joy on the Other Side – Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. After telling us to run with patience, the writer of Hebrews now tells us where…
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Run Light – Hebrews 12:1
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 11 showed us the walk of faith. It gave us…
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Faith That Wins Without Escaping – Hebrews 11:35–38
Hebrews 11:35–38 …and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,…
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Ready to Depart — 2 Timothy 4:5–6
2 Timothy 4:5–6 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. Paul’s words here feel very personal. He knows his time on earth is coming to a…
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Standing With Him — 2 Timothy 2:12
2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us. Paul continues the faithful sayings with a sober reminder. If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him. Following Christ was never presented as the easy road. Paul knew that firsthand. Chains, beatings,…
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The Word Cannot Be Chained — 2 Timothy 2:9–10
2 Timothy 2:9–10 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul is sitting in a Roman dungeon when he writes…
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The Soldier’s Focus — 2 Timothy 2:3–4
2 Timothy 2:3–4 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Paul gives Timothy a picture he would instantly understand. A soldier. A soldier does not enter battle…
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What Really Lasts — 1 Timothy 4:8
1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Paul is not picking a fight with the gym. He is talking about proportion. The world Timothy lived in admired the body. Strength. Form. Discipline.…
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Fight Well — 1 Timothy 1:18–19
1 Timothy 1:18–19 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. Paul calls him son again. That tells you this is…
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Under Command — 1 Timothy 1:1
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. Paul usually says he is an apostle by the will of God. Here he chooses a stronger word. By the commandment of God. That shifts the tone. A will can feel…
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A Heart Pointed Home — 2 Thessalonians 3:5
2 Thessalonians 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. Paul does not tell them to work up patience.He does not hand them a technique. He prays. “And the Lord direct your hearts…” That says something honest about us. The heart does not stay…
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When You’re Misrepresented — 2 Thessalonians 3:2
2 Thessalonians 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. Paul asks for one more thing. “Pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.” The word translated “unreasonable” carries the idea of absurd, out of place, warped in thinking. Not merely mistaken…
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Marked by the Kingdom – 2 Thessalonians 1:5
2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer. Paul looks at their suffering and says, “That right there? That’s evidence.” Evidence of what? That you belong to the kingdom. We don’t think that…
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Enduring Under Fire – 2 Thessalonians 1:4
2 Thessalonians 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure. Paul says something you don’t hear often. “We glory in you.” In other words, we talk about you. We tell other churches about you. We point…
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Faith, Love, and Hope – 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3
1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. Paul thanks God not for their size or influence,…
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Broken for Glory – Ephesians 3:13
Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Paul says something that almost sounds upside down.Do not lose heart because I am suffering. Who talks like that? Most of us would say, Pray that the suffering stops. Pray that the prison door opens. Pray that…