Did you take a long look at your list of things you are enduring about? Have you put boundaries on the things with no eternal value? Was there anything NOT on the list that should have been? I am afraid I had to look very closely and re-evaluate my own list and I am still working on it. Now, on to the beautiful part of endurance.
What is so beautiful about endurance? The beauty comes when you begin to see your endurance paying off. Perhaps it is in personal gains or losses such as weight control or healthy lifestyle choices. It could be you see others begin to smile around you as you deal with personal issues you have avoided for years. It could also be the absolute joy of seeing people turn their life over to God, because you shared Christ with them. Milestones, markers. The beauty of enduring. Paul summed up the entire week of the Omer of Netzach in Hebrews 12:1-8
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us thow off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes
you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts
as a son.'
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined then you are illegitimate children and not true sons."
I want to explain these verses a little so that no one takes them out of context. These verses are all about how we are running a race against sin. Jesus also ran that race against sin, but although He was in all ways tempted like we are, sinned not. He is our example. We are to run that race also keeping our eyes fixed on the prize set before us and since we are human we probably will sin and when we do, God will allow hardships (consequences of that sin) in order to discipline us back onto the track. Just as with our own children we allow them to fall in the mud when they are disobedient and refuse to listen about staying on the sidewalk, God allows us to get a little muddy when we step off the "race-track". He sets us back on the track and hoses us off to continue on with the race. If you have ever been washed off with one of those big fire truck water hoses, you don't want to be washed off that way again!
The great thing is, you also get better each time. The longer you endure, the less you have to get washed off. The longer you are in His Word, the more He starts giving you His Word and it sets you back on the track. Then you endure even longer and when you just look away for a moment all He has to do is call your name and you turn back around to the track. Oh, and when you think you are out of breath or you are just so tired you can't pick your feet up another time, well.......He gives you Tiferet.......markers......beauty........something to help you get your second wind and strength to carry on - endure a little longer. A glimpse of why you are doing what you do or a glimpse of that prize you are keeping your eyes on.........a milestone, just like those markers along the way at a 5K or a Marathon. A little crocus peering its beauty through the snow.........just a reminder that spring is not far away.
Shalom!
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