KISLEV 4
Endurance
“Possess your lives
by your endurance!” (Luke 21:19)
Noah
Webster defines “endurance” as “continuance; a state of lasting or duration;
lastingness; a bearing or suffering; a continuing under pain or distress
without resistance, or without sinking or
yielding to the pressure; sufferance; patience”[1].
Unfortunately, it is a quality that is, for the most part, sadly lacking in our
world today, for it involves a commitment to “seeing things through to the end”
that many are not interested in pursuing.
Without endurance, you will never have patience, and without patience,
you will never have endurance. And
without either one, the Word of Elohim says we are not complete.
“MY brethren, take it as a joy to you when
you enter into many and divers temptations; For you know that the trial of
faith will increase your PATIENCE. And
let patience be a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking
nothing.” (Jam
1:2-4 LBP, emphasis mine)
The
Greek word translated ‘patience’ in the above verse from James is the word hupomone (Strong’s G5281), and the word
implies a time of cheerful, hopeful, joyful, expectant, waiting. Are we counting it
all joy while we are in our trials? This
testing hurts, it is very much the ‘growing pains’ our Father allows us to go
through, yet it is also a part of the
maturing process that is needed. We need
to clothe ourselves with the ability to bear up under the trials of life with a
hopeful fortitude that actively resists all weariness and defeat. Elohim is in the business of developing our character, using whatever it takes,
that the image of Messiah Yeshua, and the fruit of His Spirit, may be developed in us.
“But you, O man of
Elohim, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, reverence, belief, love,
ENDURANCE, meekness. Fight the good fight of the belief, lay hold on
everlasting life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good
confession before many witnesses.” (1Tim 6:11-12, emphasis mine)
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