Psalm 40:1-2- “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
Endurance is the ability to stand up under adversity; perseverance is the ability to progress in spite of it. These two English words are translations of the same Greek word and simply represent two different views of the same quality: a godly response to adversity.
I’ve been reminded and convicted of many things while reading through Jerry Bridges book “The Fruitful Life.” Here’s what the Lord has been showing me in the chapter on “patience”:
Whatever the source of my adverse circumstances, the key to endurance and patience it to believe that God is ultimately in control, working out EVERY event for my good and His glory. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” I need to realize that God controls ALL my circumstances, even though I don’t always recognize His control.
Most often, people do not see the purpose of trials. But through the encouragement of Scriptures we should hope, and through hope we should persevere. Our Christian experience is not a sprint that is soon over; it is a distance that lasts a lifetime. It requires perseverance because the reward - the object of our hope - is in the distant future. Endurance and perseverance are qualities we would all like to possess, but we are reluctant to go through the process that produces them. That is why God is so faithful to allow or to bring trials into our lives, even though we shrink from them.
Bridges ends the chapter with this:
“The fruit of patience in all its aspects – long-suffering, forbearance, endurance, and perseverance – is a fruit that is most intimately associated with our devotion to God. All character traits of godliness grow out of and have their foundation in our devotion to God, but the fruit of patience must grow out of that relationship in a particular way. Only as we fear God will we submit to the trials He sends or allows. And only as we deeply apprehend His love for us in Christ will we find the courage to bear up under them. Trials always change our relationship with God. Either they drive us to Him, or they drive us away from Him. The extent of our fear of Him and our awareness of His love for us determines in which direction we will move.”
Father I pray that when I’m faced with adverse circumstances I would remember Your great love for me. May I “count it ALL joy when I meet trials of various kinds.”
In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall
You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp
To bring You praise
Thank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every day
Your great power is shown when I’m weak
You help me to see
Your love in this place
Perfect peace is filling my mind
And drawing my heart
To praise You again
In my uncertainty, Your Word is all I need
To know You’re with me every day
Yesterday I was able to get my little sisters out of the house for a while and take them to the park. We read and talked about a chapter of the book, “Girl talk” that we are going through, I had the girls write an encouraging letter to my dad to take next time they go visit him, we played soccer, volleyball, and football (well we attempted to :-p) and played on the playground. After the playground we went to the gas station and got icee’s. Here are some pictures we took:
Endurance is the ability to stand up under adversity; perseverance is the ability to progress in spite of it. These two English words are translations of the same Greek word and simply represent two different views of the same quality: a godly response to adversity.
I’ve been reminded and convicted of many things while reading through Jerry Bridges book “The Fruitful Life.” Here’s what the Lord has been showing me in the chapter on “patience”:
Whatever the source of my adverse circumstances, the key to endurance and patience it to believe that God is ultimately in control, working out EVERY event for my good and His glory. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” I need to realize that God controls ALL my circumstances, even though I don’t always recognize His control.
Most often, people do not see the purpose of trials. But through the encouragement of Scriptures we should hope, and through hope we should persevere. Our Christian experience is not a sprint that is soon over; it is a distance that lasts a lifetime. It requires perseverance because the reward - the object of our hope - is in the distant future. Endurance and perseverance are qualities we would all like to possess, but we are reluctant to go through the process that produces them. That is why God is so faithful to allow or to bring trials into our lives, even though we shrink from them.
Bridges ends the chapter with this:
“The fruit of patience in all its aspects – long-suffering, forbearance, endurance, and perseverance – is a fruit that is most intimately associated with our devotion to God. All character traits of godliness grow out of and have their foundation in our devotion to God, but the fruit of patience must grow out of that relationship in a particular way. Only as we fear God will we submit to the trials He sends or allows. And only as we deeply apprehend His love for us in Christ will we find the courage to bear up under them. Trials always change our relationship with God. Either they drive us to Him, or they drive us away from Him. The extent of our fear of Him and our awareness of His love for us determines in which direction we will move.”
Father I pray that when I’m faced with adverse circumstances I would remember Your great love for me. May I “count it ALL joy when I meet trials of various kinds.”
In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall
You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp
To bring You praise
Thank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every day
Your great power is shown when I’m weak
You help me to see
Your love in this place
Perfect peace is filling my mind
And drawing my heart
To praise You again
In my uncertainty, Your Word is all I need
To know You’re with me every day
Yesterday I was able to get my little sisters out of the house for a while and take them to the park. We read and talked about a chapter of the book, “Girl talk” that we are going through, I had the girls write an encouraging letter to my dad to take next time they go visit him, we played soccer, volleyball, and football (well we attempted to :-p) and played on the playground. After the playground we went to the gas station and got icee’s. Here are some pictures we took:
3 comments:
Thanks for this post Candace. God is confirming His kindness and sovereignty in trials over and over again to me. I was just listening to that song 5 minutes ago too and it always speaks the truth my heart needs to hear. Thanks for your faithfulness!
ditto lana, this was very encouraging for me. It's kind of God to speak to us through our friends.
looks like you had fun with your sisters. :)
[that is my theme song, btw :).]
Hey girls =D. I'm glad this encouraged you! Great song...I know! I think I listen to it or sing it in my head at least five times a day :) What truth it speaks!
Love you both!
Post a Comment