Endure

“To abide is to endure.”

Truth be told, this word, endure, has had a negative connotation for me. That is until I read the above statement. It isn’t just a statement, it is true. When I heard “To abide is to endure,” I was reminded that I have done a study on the word Abide and I have written about it. So, I went to my book and sure enough, I wrote that in my studies I found that “to abide is to endure.”

Endurance for me was always connected with pain. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) Unfortunately, I have been acquainted with weeping which is no wonder why I viewed this word negatively. On top of that I have found a few other verses in scripture that speak about enduring during suffering. Who in their right mind wants to suffer? No one. Only thing is, suffering is part of life. I mean, to this day I will not be the first to say, “sign me up for suffering.” Yeah no, hard pass. BUT, when I see a reward, and desire a reward and keep my eyes on that reward, I will go through the suffering to get it.

A minimal example of suffering for a reward in my life; I have ran several half marathons. I wanted to complete them well, I wanted the metal, and for that first half marathon, I wanted the burger at the end. So, what did I do? I had to train, I had to give up family time and social time, I had to suffer and push my body past my limits. I had to endure. Little did I know this was only training me physically for the journey ahead, mentally and spiritually.

Perspective shift! Here is another quote I heard, “In the midst of chaos laughter endures.”

As you may imagine, when I realized that yes, to abide is to endure and then hearing the quote on laughter enduring, my view of this word was shattered. As my understanding was shifting, I found this in the KJV, James 5:11 reads, “We count them happy which endure.”  Wow for the first time, the word endure now brings some sort of hope and some sort of good expectancy. Honestly, it even brings a sort of gratitude I cannot explain.  

Follow me into the rest of the revelation of this word.

“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never live through it.” 2 Corinthians 1:8

This couldn’t be truer, many times I wanted to give up telling God I just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take the pain, the suffering, and the weeping, it was becoming too much. Somehow, I persevered…

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.” Colossians 1:11

As I read that verse in Colossians, it hit me, “you will be strengthened with all HIS glorious power” (emphasis mine) WOW. HIS power, all not some, but all! … When you endure, you abide in Him. As you abide, you are strengthened with ALL his glorious power.

So how? How was I able to endure? How are you able to endure? As I pressed into this for the last two to three weeks it finally made sense. His love. His love is what kept me going. As we abide, He fills us with His love which gives us strength.

Look at what Song of Song 5:8 says, “…if you find my beloved one, please tell him I endured all travails for him. I’ve been pierced through by love and will not be turned aside!” (TPT)

And then look at what 1 Corinthians 13:7 tells us about love. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”  EXCUSE ME? YES, it endures through it all! Love is what strengthens us to move forward to press through, to endure the pain, the suffering, the travail, the loss, the weeping, all of it!

It now makes sense, just as he endured the cross, so we endure what we need to go through so we may then be filled with love, joy, happiness and life!

You may be in the middle of a trial or in the middle of suffering, take courage. As you endure, He is right there with you. Because to endure means to abide! Love will get you through.

I end with this with a different version of James 5:11 “We give great honor to those who endure.” (NLT)