Endure
My favorite book is called Note to Self, by Joe Thorn. It is written for pastors, but it is really applicable to everyone. We often focus so much on what we have to teach and show others that we forget that we must live out these things ourself. One of the things that I have to constantly tell myself is that I must trust the Lord more.
There are times when certain things just feel like they are falling apart. Everything that can go wrong, does. Murphy’s Law, right? In those times I am more apt to bite down on my mouth piece and push through. In those times I work harder and put in more hours. I’ll fight and fight to make sure the parts and pieces are picked up. I do all this without considering what God is doing through the broken pieces.
Have you ever seen sea glass? Hunting for sea glass was one of our favorite things to do when we lived on an island. Sea glass is beautiful, but it wasn’t nearly as beautiful before it was broken. The original glass had to be broken, thrown in the water, tossed and turned by the sea, and glazed over by time in order for it to be as beautiful as it is.
This is what God is doing in our messes. Us fighting against what God is doing in our hurt is like taking that glass out of the water before it is made into sea glass. It doesn’t happen over night - it takes time. It takes waiting on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 says:
“Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!”
Philippians 1:6 tells us that God is faithful to carry out the work that He has begun in us, yet we try to take things in our own hands and direct things where we think that they should go. We’re just not good at waiting, are we?
It’s hard to wait. It’s hard to be patient. It’s hard to endure. To endure means that we suffer, patiently. Our God is a God of endurance (Rom. 15:5) and He has given us the power to endure. We can and should endure in the trying times because we trust the Lord. We trust that He is good. We trust that He loves us and is doing what is best for us. We are called to taste and see that the Lord is good. Are you willing to taste and see? Are you willing to endure?
