June 13 - Promises To Endure.

Exodus 18:23
“If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.”
 
Endurance does not come naturally or automatically. 
It is a skill that must be learned and earned through diligence and hard work. 
 
We cannot put on a pair of brand-new running shoes and go run 26.2 miles to earn a sticker for the back of our vehicle when we have not ran even a block in five years. It simply does not work that way. God did not create our bodies to automatically handle such pressure or strain. If we desire to run a marathon, we must train and prepare.
 
The same is true in our spiritual lives. As we walk with the Lord on a daily basis, He enables within us an endurance to withstand the race set before us.
 
Paul endured, and the Lord delivered him.
2 Timothy 3:11
“Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”
 
Abraham patiently endured.
Hebrews 6:15
“And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”
 
What an example of how we should wait…yet so often we choose to be impatient while we bear the trial we are facing.
 
Although there are many examples throughout the pages of Scripture of how the Lord can enable us to endure what comes our way, there is One Who is truly the Ultimate Example.
 
Hebrews 12:2
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
 
We can endure whatever comes before us, simply because He chose to endure the cross for us.
 
The key to enduring is choosing to willingly obey what God commands. 
The Lord promised Moses that if he would do that, He would enable him to endure, and give them peace.
 
There is peace available to us as He enables us to endure whatever may come…if only we will first choose to do what the Word of God says.
 
 
Bible Reading:
2 Kings 5-6   |    Galatians 3