ENDURANCE: A NECESSARY QUALITY

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.

 But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 

John 16:33

In today's economic and social climate we are surrounded by great opposition to progress at work, home and at play.  It is a challenge now to keep our living on the straight path, and to keep our minds, sight and focus on God and His promises.  

We have might have commenced this year on a high note, with prayer and fasting and thinking "it is Month 7  and asking the questions such as "where is my testimony"? "Where are the manifestations of progress God promised?"  " I prayed and screamed Amen on the top of my lungs?" How come everyone has a testimony except me"? 

However, we must remember that our God is a faithful God.  He assures of His faithfulness in Deuteronomy 7:9 and it reads "Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands".   He will do that which he has promised to do, but He needs our participation in bringing it to manifestation.

The question is NOT 'what can God do', BUT 'what we believe and are we doing that which He has asked us to do'.

The period between said prayers and manifested answers is called 'WAITING'.  This waiting period is not a passive position, it is an active one. Whilst we wait, we wait by 'DOING' that which God has laid on our hearts to do.   We must make a heartful decision and declaration to do what God says to do like the Psalmist David in Psalm 119:8, which reads "I'm going to do what you tell me to do...".

Willingness and obedience, mixed with expectation is the bridge of delivery to God's promises.
  

Man prays', God says, Man does with joy, gladness and expectation, and God blesses

But the waiting period is too long most of us cry. The waiting period is different from person to person, but most of times our willingness and obedience will determine if we wait a day, a week, a month a year or a lifetime for that which we seek - according to God's will for our lives.

However long our waiting period is, one thing we must develop is the nature and spirit of ENDURANCE. 

Endurance is defined as: The state or fact of persevering: For example, "through hard work and endurance, we will complete our life's work"

In the book of Ezra (please read Ezra 4: 1-24 for Completion) we read a harassed people of Israel who faced opposition in doing what God had commissioned them to do do, which was the rebuilding of the temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar decades earlier.  They faced opposition from their adversaries, who even tried to get the then king of Persia to stop them.  However, God's people, endured and successfully completed the rebuilding of the temple. 

Sometimes, we might be doing all we know how to do and find ourselves still waiting.  God is a good God and He will not willingly withhold any good thing from us. This means we must make sure we are in tune and aligned with what God is doing at that time.  It could be for various reasons such as developing a good character in us, ready for the blessing, so that it will not crush us.  It could be that God's timing for that thing is not here yet and such.  However, the key to this period of waiting is to be in tune with God, ask Him what He is doing and for an understanding of the time and the season of waiting that you might find yourself in.  When we do, His Spirit will guide, teach and comfort us.

As with when we face trails in life, in our waiting periods, God Has promised not to abandon us as He declares in Hebrews 13: 5, which reads "...“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  Remember God honours His word above His name - Psalm 138:2.

I can hear you say, I hear all you are saying Remi, but it's still difficult, what and how do I develop endurance whilst actively waiting on God?   I am glad you asked. Here are a few things we can do:

1.  Encourage others to be encouraged:  It is easy to get caught up in our own problems, the house, the kids, the bills, the job, the investments and so on. But we are relational beings  - I wrote about this HERE and we are called to help one another.  In the time of waiting, it is paramount that we rise above our own needs and encourage others so that we too can be encouraged.  We can also get encouragement from the bible, Hebrews 12:1 talks about the "cloud of witnesses" in the hall of faith. If they went through all they did and came out strong and victorious, so can we.

2.  Get rid of Hindrances:  A hindrance is something that stops, that prevents or disallows one to do something.  In Hebrews 12:1 we are encouraged to get rid of sin that easily traps and hinders us.  When we expose and entrust ourselves to God, He will help us identify the things that are causing hindrances in our lives, that is or could slow us down.  It is our job to work with the Holy Spirit to rid ourselves of them. 

3. Run the race:  We are encouraged in Hebrews 12:2 to run the race of endurance set before us. Not the one set before our aunt, or uncle, or pastor or brother or sister, but we as individuals. Yes, we will run alongside all these people, but each of us has a specific race that God wants us to run and win. Quitting when the going gets tough is NOT an option.  God's strength is always available when we feel tired. 

4.  Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ: Ah this sometimes is the difficult one, especially, when we are slapped from all angles with all sorts of crises.  However, Hebrews 12:2, encourages us to "keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith".  Author is defined as 'the maker of anything; creator; originator'.  Finisher is defined as 'to complete and perfect in detail'. The word finisher also means 'to perfect'.  When we keep our focus on Jesus, He will help us perfectly complete and win the race He has set before us.  

I encourage you (point to myself too), that whilst you are 'actively waiting' on the manifestation of God's promise, to be willing and obedient in doing that which He has told you - not your aunt, or cousin or pastor or your brother, but YOU -  to do, and in the TIME to do it.  Time is very important in God's agenda for our lives Ephesians 5:16 reminds us  that we must make use our time wisely, it reads "Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil"

Regardless the opposition, the struggle keep on pushing forward in God's strength and with the help of the Holy Spirit , build up supernatural endurance to do all that God's say you should do, in the time He says you should do it and perfectly completing your race.

In no time, your willingness, obedience and endurance will pay off, and the testimonies that will manifest, will go on to make God famous along your way.

Much love, Remi
***pictures by google***

BSL TRANSLATION OF POST
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God's Schedule --- Same As Yours?

"you saw my body as it was formed.

All the days planned for me

were written in your book

before I was one day old"

Psalm 139:16 (NCV)

Yesterday was our local area prayer meeting gathering, and it was awesome. God is good and a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. We spoke and prayed about the need to always check our standing in God's will, to make sure we have not deviated off track and gone our own way.

During the discussion, a couple of individuals asked questions around what to do when God is silent and what to do when we have desires that we seem to be praying about over and over again, but nothing seems to be happening - well that we cannot see. This inspired me to put this post up.

Sometimes when we think or feel that things are not going the way we planned (that is our prayers are seemingly going unanswered), we start to fret. We have prayed, even embarked on a 3, 7, 21 or 30 day dry fast and still no outcome. At this point in time it might feel like God has completely abandoned us. However, I would like to suggest that maybe, just maybe God is working on completely different schedule and agenda for our live than we are at that particular point in time, and it might be that we align our will and desires to His? Selah.

God's master plan for our lives is not to satisfy us with a list of wants or shopping list - the house, the car, the business, the job and much more. His master plan is to develop a loving and personal relationship with us individually. It is through and of this relationship that He blesses us with the desires of our hearts, and that everything else comes as an addition to us - the house, the car, the husband, wife and much more.

Yes, whilst we are developing a relationship with God, getting to know and trust Him more, life will often bring its share of pain and suffering. However, we should be confident in the knowledge that God works everything (trials, tribulation and all) for our good, as confirmed in Romans 8:28.


You might read that and say, "but I know what I want and I want it now, for time is slipping away and I seem to be tagging along others through this journey called life". Hands up me, for I have said the exact same things a million times before.

By the grace of God, I have come to understand that a life placed completely in God's hands and guided by His Holy Spirit means that His timing takes precedence. To only way to live through life at the pace God has set for each of us is to live according to trust and live according to God's schedule. We must trust God that He knows what He is doing.


A few reasons why we should trust God's schedules for our lives are:

• GOD IS ALL KNOWING:  The opening verse of this post, Psalm 129:16, confirms that God has already written the book, with all the pages of our lives, which includes all the things that must happen - including your very act of reading this post. This means He knows our end from the beginning. The reality of this knowledge, when we start to fret should encourage us to pray as such "Lord let my today, and everyday, including my wants, needs and desires, unfold as it is already written in the pages of your book for my life - trials, tribulations, abundance and all". We must learn to COMMIT OUR PLANS TO GOD (click on link to read further), and let His Holy Spirit guide us. From experience, I promise that you will experience peace, rest and assurance beyond comprehension. For more on trusting in God, please read click on and read the "TRUSTING IN GOD KEY" post I wrote a while back.

• GOD IS ALL WISE:   It is foolishness to think that any human being can know the absolute best thing to do or say in any situation. We can try to do things to the best of our ability, but even then we will often make mistakes. Why? This is because we mostly make decisions based on an imperfect perception, of the present or future. God's wisdom is infinite and perfect. God takes His time to teach us all we know through His Holy Spirit, if we let Him. All wisdom comes from Him as declared in Proverbs 2:6, which reads "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding".

• GOD IS ALL LOVING:   God loves us. His schedule and plans for our lives revolves around the fact that He wants the BEST for us. Our problem usually arise because think we know what 'best' looks like and when it is not happening, we get discouraged. God's thoughts towards us are precious as described in Psalm 139:17. Time is one of the tools God uses to teach the weighty lessons of patience. It opens us up further to have a deeper and closer relationship with Him. It is also prepares us for the good things He already wants to give us.

These are just a few reasons why we should embrace God's timing about everything for our lives. Yes, we have desires, because we have been given the power of imagination and we are meant to use these to conjure up dreams and visions and possibilities that in the natural will seem utterly impossible. However, all these needs to be in line with His will for our lives and once they are, has to happen in His own time.

The rewards of trusting in God are
endless as the blue sky on a summers day
countless as the stars in night sky
never-ending, much deeper than the deepest ocean
and the joy it brings more vibrant than a
million fireworks on display at the grandest celebration

As you live out the reality of each day, I encourage you to align yourself with God's schedule for your desires, hopes and dreams. Get close to Him in prayer, willingness and obedience.

I encourage you to trust God completely, knowing that the very essence of your life is in perfect hands.

Be patient and trust that the pages of the book He has already written about your life, will unfold more beautiful than you could ever dream or think; making Him famous along the way.

Much Love, Remi

Picture by ***google***