Wednesday's Word

Today's word is something I get convicted about A LOT. Today's word is "endure."

Actual meaning: To carry on through, despite hardships

Meaning to me: To bear with patience anything that I face knowing that God is with me and that He will never leave me

You may ask why I'm convicted about this word. I'm not the best at enduring, at least not with patience. I'm learning little by little I think, but there are times when I fall flat on my face. There are a lot of good reasons to endure.

First off, endurance shows love. I Corinthians 13:7 says, "{LOVE} Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, ENDURETH all things."
Paul is going through a list of the characteristics of love (the actual word love is found in an earlier verse, but I added it in here since I only shared this verse.)
But it says here that love endureth all things. We all know this to be true because we take a whole lot from a family member that we really love. My brother and I used to tear each other up when we were younger, but an hour after the fight, we still loved each other. No matter how many times I scratched him or how many times he bit me, we still loved each other. Why? Because we didn't allow the hurtful things between us overcome our love for each other.
We are to have the same kind of enduring love for everyone. Though we don't understand the habits of the crack addict on the street, we are still supposed to love them. Why? Because God loves them, and we are to be a reflection of His love to those around us.
Yes, our love is to be an enduring kind of love. A love that can't be overcome by the wrongs of this world.
Secondly, endurance shows strength. Look at this verse from II Timothy 2:3, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
I don't know about you, but I admire soldiers. I admire their courage to stand in battle. I admire their willingness to stand for a cause. When I think of a soldier, I think of strength. Physical and mental strength. Jesus wants us to have spiritual strength. Just as a soldier will endure anything in a battle, even unto death, we are to learn to endure the fiery darts that the devil will throw at us in the spiritual battles we face everyday.
We find this strength to endure by talking to Him in prayer and reading His Word everyday. We find this strength in our relationship with Him.
Lastly, endurance makes me think of eternity. Here's a verse from I Peter 1:25, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
God has made us promises in His Word. He has promised that if we endure, we will be saved. He has promised eternal happiness to those that bear the sufferings of this life. His promises are eternal. His Word will endure forever. So we can hold onto his promises for all of eternity.
I want to learn to endure things. I want to show God's love to those around me. I want to be strong when I face the temptations of the devil. And I want to rest in the fact that I serve an eternal God who is with me every step of the way!