Good morning. You may be aware of Eugene Peterson’s work The Message, which is his unique paraphrase of the Bible. I often find it quite insightful, although it shouldn’t be confused as a translation of scripture. Peterson has written several other books that I have found interesting, including A Long Obedience In the Same Direction. Even the title seems long. This particular book is all about endurance, stating that our faith is designed for the long haul. As I began to read it, I confess that the image of those commercials with the Energizer Bunny came to mind…it keeps going, and going, and going. Endurance, Peterson tells us, is one of the key components of functional faith. However, anyone who has used energizer batteries can tell you that they do indeed run out, usually at the most inopportune times. Faith does not “run out.” Our faith is a blessing that is known for its endurance.
Endurance in faith is one of the most telltale signs of Christian character because it manifests itself over time. There is no shortcut to obtaining endurance. Endurance is faithfulness proven over time against obstacles of every kind, and those who possess it have earned it. That makes endurance rather odd in the world of faith, because rarely do we speak of anything related to our faith as having been “earned.”
Way back in my Minnesota Bible College days, a speaker for one of our morning chapel services closed his remarks by shouting “Keep On!” He repeated this several times, and when I say shouted, that is exactly what he did. He filled the room with his voice. His point was that as young people who were going to be preachers we were going to get discouraged. We were going to get tired. We were going to be hurt. We were possibly even going to allow ourselves to become somewhat disillusioned. But the key to being a successful servant of the Lord and making it as a preacher of the gospel was: “Keep On!” It is, our speaker explained, all about endurance. At that time, I took in his words and appreciated them enough to remember them to this day, but I didn’t realize how right he was. Over the years of time I learned that endurance would be one of the most significant aspects of functional faith.
Endurance in faith is the key to understanding the mind of Job. Endurance is the power that allows him to “keep it together” when everything and everyone around him is falling apart. One day, life was great. He had a nice family, he had wonderful possessions, he had his health, and he had a wife (I’m not going to suggest much more than that regarding her nature, since we read this of her advice to Job: “Why don’t you just curse God and die?” Anyway, Job had it all together. But one day God gave Satan permission to put him to the test. Everything that Job enjoyed was suddenly gone. Possessions, family, health, social standing, (he kept his wife) everything went from being great to being gone or miserable. Did Job smile patiently in the face of such sudden hardship? No, he did not. He complained bitterly that it didn’t seem fair. He complained loudly enough that God came to him and had a talk. But one thing was true of Job…he endured. Satan’s test failed, for in the face of terrible adversity, Job hung in there and refused to give up on his faith in God. In the end, everything was restored.
I pray that none of us should ever face conditions in life to match those of Job, but there is no doubt that all of us find ourselves in difficult circumstances from time to time. It is through those stretches that we need to remember that many of God’s most incredibly important lessons come to us in the midst of difficult circumstances. When we find ourselves up against it, the key is to endure.
Galatians 6:9 tells us: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. What is the key component of Christian faith that is required to obey this command? Endurance.
Hebrews 12:1 reminds us: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The lesson from the long list of faith heroes in the 11th chapter of Hebrews is that their faith should inspire us. They should inspire us to run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Notice that it doesn’t suggest that the race we are running is one we have set out for ourselves. No, it is the race we have inherited, come upon, stumbled into… but it is the race we are to run with perseverance. That word translated here perseverance is the same that we would translate as endurance.
So, hang in there! Keep on! Steady as she goes! Add what ever saying of the type that you prefer, and there are many, because the message is the same: in faith and in all of life…ENDURE, for the Lord is with you and it is going to be OK.
Vern