Hang On

When I prayed asking the Lord to remove anything from my life that would keep me from growing closer to him, the answer sure didn’t look like I thought it would. When a girlfriend and I walked around the local school praying for the children and her son, the answer sure didn’t look like we thought it would. When my prayer sisters and I were praying for the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, the answer sure didn’t look like we thought it would. If there is anything I’ve learned about walking with my God, it’s that his thoughts are higher than my thoughts and his ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9). Our journey together sure hasn’t looked like I thought it would.

My bet is that Jeremiah the prophet thought the same thing. He was known as the weeping prophet and wrote the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament of the Bible. Jeremiah was lamenting because the messages our Lord gave him to announce to Israel were ones of discipline and judgement, not very happy or exciting messages. The prophet was severely punished for his obedience to God. I cannot compare my walk to that of Jeremiah’s. However, when I look at the state of our Union and the state of our world, I think I can understand a little bit of how he felt. Answered prayers or divine dreams are often my preference for growing in Christ. Lately my ability to endure shows my victory.

In 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12, King David sent Israel’s army to fight their enemies while he stayed home. David should have been fighting with his men. Instead of defending Israel, David was tempted, committed adultery, murder and then was called out by the prophet, Nathan. In 2021, I heard a sermon on these two chapters. I learned that David’s stumbling wasn’t so much due to his ignorance of holy living. He knew what God expected of him. He was considered a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). David’s breakdown was due to a lack of endurance. He was exhausted!

We are fallen human beings. We cannot endure perfectly. We get tired and give up doing the good we ought to do. God is a God of endurance. He does not give up, even when we do. He can endure perfectly, and can carry us when we become discouraged. We need rest sometimes. We need quiet, alone time with our Lord to receive both Scriptural and nutritional food. It is crucial that we prioritize our schedules to give ourselves whatever we need (not want) so we do not find ourselves in a position like David did, a place where we are too tired to endure in right, pure living. As we work to shine God’s light in a dark world, remember Peter. When he looked at the storm he began to sink, but as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk on water (Matthew 14:28-33).

 I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:17-19 ESV

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 14:12 ESV