Category Archives: Endurance

Life stinks!

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by in Endurance, Faith, Grumbling, Truth

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Life can be so disappointing!  So hard!

As the Israelites left Egypt to go to the Promised Land, did they think their hardships were over?  If so, can you imagine how disheartened they must have felt when  the Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were hot on their trail? And how did they feel when their stomachs started rumbling from hunger and their mouths were dry and parched from lack of water?  Life challenged them and most of them failed the challenge.

Why? How is that God was not well-pleased with most of them?

  1. Their expectations were faulty. They expected it to be easy.  They didn’t realize their struggles were common to all men.
  2. Their theology was faulty. They didn’t think God was faithful. They didn’t see His daily protection and provision.
  3. Their commitment was faulty. They grumbled and complained against God. They wanted to go back to Egypt.

If you’re in a hard time right now, let me encourage you to:

  1.  Adjust your expectations.  God never promised you an easy life here in this broken world.  But He has promised to be with you every step of the way.  He will make a way for you to endure this hardship.
  2. Check your theology.  God is always good and always faithful.  Do you believe that? Can you cling to that with all your heart?
  3. Examine your commitment. Do you want to follow God even if it means hardship and heartbreak? Fully give yourself to Him, heartbreak and all.  He can handle it!

Caleb was not like the other Israelites.  He was different.

God says of Caleb, “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land…” Numbers 14:24

1 Corinthians 10

 

Get Me Out of Here Now!

04 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Endurance, Pain, Trials

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On Monday, I told my husband, “This is just too much to endure!  It is too painful! I wish I could just run away.”

I ran to the Bible instead. (I guess one of the advantages of being older, is that you know where your help comes from.) My reading was I Corinthians 10.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.  I Corinthians 10:13

If you’re in a situation that seems like too much, it’s time to run to the Bible and let God provide you with an escape route.  The escape route can take many directions.  It may be guidance for dealing with your situation. It may be correction in the way you are thinking about your situation.  It may be encouragement that you’re not on the journey alone.  It may be a reminder that God has a purpose and a plan for you.

Do you see the main truth to hold onto when you’re struggling?  It’s so simple, yet so profound.  GOD IS FAITHFUL!  When our situation is rugged, it’s easy to lose sight of the faithfulness of God.  All we see is the rough terrain.

file4081251141923Notice also, that temptation never arrives by itself.  It always has a partner. Temptation always comes with ‘the way of escape’.  It’s natural to want to escape our pain.  The problem is we try to escape it in all the wrong ways.  Instead, we must run to God with our pain.  He will provide the way of escape.  He will give us perseverance, encouragement, and hope. Romans 15:4-5