Enduring
Whether it's the rainy weather, the lack of praise time and formal Bible study for a couple more weeks, the depth of heartache on my prayer list or other external influences, I found myself floating into a funk the other day. I wanted to call a friend or my husband and unload, but I knew the proper protocol for holy living was to go to the Lord. Before I could get my thoughts verbalized He said,
"Endure!"
Going to a couple dictionaries, definitions such as:suffer patiently for a long time, remain in existence, and deal with or accept something unpleasant surfaced.
Typing endure into Biblegateway unearthed seventy verses. Two quickly spoke to me personally, while numerous Psalms lifted my spirits.
In John's message to Ephesus in Revelation 2: 1-4 he says,
"The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this: 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.'"
Whew, wee. Shake it off girl. In all we are called to endure our eyes still need to be on Jesus, our First Love! My pickiness can be so petty, so trivial compared to the cause of Christ.
The second verse helped to hush me up as well. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; loves does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
While my girlfriends would have consoled me and my man been willing to go to bat and try to change situations, my God got to the HEART of the matter, my sinful selfishness. He gives the best attitude adjustments around! Thank You, Jesus
