Purposeful Endurance
When we think of a word like endure, we might tend to think of a long-distance runner digging deep to finish the race and then falling across the finish line exhausted or a sports team that seems not to give up until the game is truly over.
No doubt, these can be examples of endurance. However, it is not the kind I am speaking of in this devotion.
Hebrews 6:13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
God had promised something to Abraham, and it was an amazing promise. But God made this promise by making sure it rested on God alone to bring it forth in Abraham’s life.
We’ve seen how people use sayings to emphasize the seriousness of a promise they make to someone. They might say something like, “I swear on my mother’s grave.” Or maybe they just say, “I swear to you, I will do it.”
The only problem with a mere man or woman swearing such things is that we know that if they are swearing this with regard to something absolutely wonderful and amazing, it might be difficult for them to bring it to pass. If someone you knew who earned just enough to live on came to you and swore they were going to make you rich, you might appreciate the sentiment of such a gesture on their part, but you would be waiting around for the outcome.
In Abraham’s case, it was no mere man making such bold claims. It was the Almighty God saying these things and swearing by Himself in doing so because He could swear by no one greater. For this reason, Abraham could patiently endure. In other words, Abraham held on to such a promise in his heart and mind, knowing that if God made it, it would eventually come to pass.
Abraham did not give up on it and just take off and do his own thing, forgetting what God had spoken to him. This promise shaped his existence. Purposeful endurance is the kind that allows the promise to affect the way one makes choices and impacts one’s direction in life because the promise is believed.
What promises have you become aware of that God has given you? Did you know that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus? In Christ Jesus, we find the Holy Spirit fitting us to receive all God has for us. He prepares us to receive what God has to offer, like a tailor or seamstress measuring someone for the perfect suit or dress fit. Sometimes, this fitting process involves a little time, and that is when purposeful endurance is needed. It doesn’t negate the promise that we are enduring till it manifests. Purposeful endurance makes known that the promise is believed. Are you purposefully enduring with respect to certain promises? I encourage you today to purposefully endure just as Abraham, the father of faith, did.
