Spiritual Endurance

Anything worth doing, and anything worth having, requires endurance. If you have a goal or a dream of any substance or significance, in order to obtain it, there are some things you're going to have to endure. Endurance is not a characteristic that is germain to our present cultural society. We have become a "microwave" society. We want things quick and in a hurry. We want the "quick-fix." However, life doesn't always work that way. And it definitely doesn't work that way with God.

I believe that one of the reasons why the church doesn't witness more miracles and experience more of the supernatural is because of our lack of endurance. Many church-goers can't even stay in church for more than two hours (if that)! Yet they can watch tv and stay on the computer "all night long." Our lack of attention span is, once again, a testament to our lack of endurance. If the preacher preaches longer than 30 minutes to an hour, they've preached "too long." This is a cultural phenomenon that we must overcome. We have to get God off the clock and let the Spirit "stretch" our physical and mental endurance when it comes to the things of God.

However, there are some believers where spiritual endurance is a legitimate issue. There are many of you that have been waiting on God, and you're beginning to ask the question, "How long?":

• How long will my body hurt like this until I am healed?
• How long before I have enough money to pay my bills?
• How long before my marriage starts to work out? 
• How long before I get married? 

On the surface, these questions may appear to be related to a lack of patience because of the association with the time factor (how long?). But not necessarily. The reason these questions have to do with endurance is because of the challenge of internalizing difficulty, inconvenience, and in many cases, hurt and pain, while waiting on God to fulfill the promises. This is why the Scripture says in Hebrews chapter 6, in referring to Abraham, "after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise". It wasn't just patience that allowed Abraham to receive the promise, it was also spiritual endurance.

The greatest example of spiritual endurance is Jesus. The Scripture says in the 12th chapter of Hebrews, "Looking unto Jesus...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross." In order for Jesus to receive the promotion of being seated at the right Hand of The Father, He first had to endure the agony of the Cross.

Saints, I know it may be hard for you right now, but I want to encourage you to hang in there! Your deliverance is on the way. Your breakthrough is on the way. Your healing is on the way. Your blessing is on the way. But in order to receive it, we must first learn the lesson of spiritual endurance.