Tag Archives: endurance

September 29, 2025 · 5:32 AM

Next Level Growth

I’ve the last couple of weeks I’ve heard different people say that God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers. Another phrase I’ve heard quite a bit is that God will never give you more than you can bear. At first they sound great, but the more I think about them, neither are biblical. God does give battles to people to prove their strength. He allows us to go through tough times to create endurance and to build strength. Also, if He only gave us what we could handle, there would be no need for dependence on Him. He knows what is ahead and what preparations we need now for it. Tough times increase our strength, endurance, character, faith and more. That’s why James says we should count it all joy.

In Genesis we read the story of Joseph. He was a teenager when God gave him a dream of the future. He was not one of God’s toughest soldiers when his brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. He wasn’t the strongest when he was wrongfully accused and thrown into prison. Being forgotten there for years might have been more than he could bear. What we do know is that God used that period of time as a training ground to produce the person he needed to be in order to handle the mantle of leadership. He went from spoiled brat to understanding God’s plan in that period. He learned his lesson and grew so much that he didn’t seek revenge on his brothers. Instead He saw God’s providence.

Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that you must not depend on bread alone to sustain you, but on everything that the Lord says” (GNT). God’s desire for us is that we would learn to trust Him instead of ourselves in every situation. He is our source and our sustainer. It is His strength that is perfect in our weakness. It is His grace that is sufficient for what we are going through. If you’re going through a hard time, it’s not because you’re His toughest soldier. It’s because there is more that He’s leading you to, more that He’s going to accomplish through you and another level for you to get to. Trust in His strength and not yours for that next level growth.

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November 19, 2024 · 5:31 AM

No Shortcuts

Several years ago there was a college admissions scandal. Several rich, prominent families were paying people off in order to give their kids an unfair advantage in getting into colleges. A lot of famous people committed fraud doing this while paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribe money. What they didn’t understand was how they were setting their kids up for failure in life. By contrast, people like Kevin O’Leary and Warren Buffet have given their kids very little to help them in life. They have said that they don’t necessarily want their kids to inherit their wealth because they won’t have struggled to gain it. The struggle is where they learn to appreciate it and value it. They believe that taking financial struggles away from their kids will cripple them in the long run and destroy their character.

In the Bible, God used struggle and hardship as part of His process to strengthen people, develop character and to get people ready to lead. Joseph stands chief among them. When he was a teenager, God gave him dreams of what his future would hold. He shared them with his family and was a punk to his brothers. They resented him for his behavior and dreams, so they grabbed him, stripped him, and sold him as a slave. His favored status was gone and years of struggling ensued as he worked in Potiphar’s house and went to prison. While he was in prison and forgotten, God worked on his character. When he was ready, God redeemed him from the pit and placed him second in command to Pharaoh. When his brothers came seeking help, he didn’t take revenge. He recognized God’s hand in the struggle.

James 1:3-4 says, “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (NLT). God has a process to grow you and place you. It isn’t an easy one. Don’t have the mindset of the people above who tried to shortcut the process. That ultimately affects your development and character. Trials and tests are part of the growth process. If you want to be complete, lacking nothing, you must submit to the process. It won’t be easy, but the strength you will gain will maximize your ability to reach the potential God placed in you. Instead of trying to use a shortcut, ask God for strength, wisdom and courage to endure. You can become the person God sees in you and be used for greater things.

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June 30, 2023 · 5:41 AM

Building Endurance

In the Bible, the Greek word for endurance is hypomone. Strong’s Concordance defines it as, “The characteristic of a person who is not swerved from their deliberate purpose and their loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials.” Over and over the Bible says we must have this kind of endurance. We must be the type of person who keeps our eyes and mind on the things above and not lose our focus when things come against us. Our nature is to be like Peter where we take our eyes off Jesus and look at the storm around us. Like Peter, we can lose our footing if that happens, but God is gracious and helps us back up so we can continue. If you’re going through trials, remember your purpose and reset your focus. You’re building an endurance that is necessary to your faith.

Here are some Bible verses on endurance.

1. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,

Colossians 1:11 NLT

2. For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.

Hebrews 10:36 AMP

3. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

2 Peter 1:5-7 NLT

4. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT

5. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].

James 1:3 AMP

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April 4, 2023 · 5:52 AM

Don’t Run

My son once asked me, “If you had been with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, what would you have done?” I know what he was after and what he was thinking, so I answered, “I would have ran like the rest of them.” He replied, “I would have stayed.” I then explained that it was a nice sentiment, but he would have ran too. I told him that you can’t take today’s knowledge and apply it to what you would have done yesterday. However, I also explained that he can take today’s knowledge and pre-apply it to what he will do tomorrow. There will be plenty of times in his life, and ours, where things look bad, and the opposite of what we hoped would happen will come true. There will be times where we’re tempted to blame God and deny Him, but if we decide now how we will handle it, we improve our chances of staying with Him.

Job is a tough book to read. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to lose everything in a day, including your children. It’s hard to imagine how we might respond when insult is added to injury when we then become too sick to do anything about it. I love that this book pulls back the curtains of what is often happening. Job 1:10-11 has Satan going to God against Job saying, “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” (NLT) Satan accuses us by saying we will run from God when bad things happen, but God knows that like Job, if you will predetermine how you will respond, you can endure anything and still worship Him.

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (ESV). We know that troubles don’t come from God, but He allows them and uses them to test us and grow us. Job had to endure a long time with no response from God as to why everything happened. God grew his endurance and his faith in the end because he didn’t run when bad things happened. He stood firm. We must remain in Him and stand firm during the most difficult times. He is our protection, our source of strength and our hope when all is else is lost. The more difficult your situation is, the more your endurance has the ability to grow. Don’t allow today’s circumstances cause you to run. God had a plan and was working things out behind the scenes for Jesus, the disciples and Job. He’s doing the same for you even though you can’t see it. Don’t run.

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February 11, 2022 · 5:35 AM

Producing Endurance

Merrimack-Webster’s dictionary says that endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. The on,y way to get endurance is to go through hardship or adversity though. As believers, we’re going to experience those things because God uses them to produce in us things that can’t be produced any other way. Instead of running from hardship and adversity, we are to embrace them because it’s a sign that God is working on us and in us. It’s His process to receive His promises. The greater the hardships you have to endure, the greater things God will produce in you. Hand in there. He’s doing something amazing in you.

Here are some Bible verses on endurance.

1. Stand firm with patient endurance and you will find your souls’ deliverance.

Luke 21:19 TPT

2. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.

Colossians 1:11 NLT

3. For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.

Hebrews 10:36 AMP

4. For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance.

James (Jacob) 1:3 TPT

5. We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance,

Romans 5:3 GNT

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April 15, 2021 · 5:30 AM

The Olive Tree

One of the cool things we got to see on our trip to Israel was the Garden of Gethsemane. It was at the foot of the Mount of Olives just outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. In the garden were several olive trees. The picture you see is one that I took of them. They were huge and were centuries old. These trees have survived droughts, earthquakes, and people taking parts of them because of the significance of where they’re planted. Even with all that, they still produce olives to this day.

In Psalm 52:8, David said, “But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love” (NLT). David understood that if he planted himself in God’s house, watered himself with God’s Word, and allowed himself to be cared for by God, he would thrive and produce fruit all the days of his life. He would be able to survive what life threw at him.

We all go through spiritual droughts, have our world shaken, and even have people pick us apart. The question is, “Where are you planted?” Are you planted in the fertile soil of God’s Word? If we want to thrive, even in the toughest times, we must plant ourselves, like David, in God’s house and trust in Him. He will care for you and cause you to keep producing long after everyone else thinks you’re done.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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October 7, 2020 · 5:54 AM

Times Of Conditioning

I always loved it when basketball season was starting in high school. What I hated was going through conditioning for it. Coach would have us start off with stretches. We would then have to run about a mile. Once everyone was back in the gym, we began to do exercises that strengthened our core. Our legs would get wobbly around that time, but then we had to start doing drills. If you messed up, you had to take a lap around the three acre property. To wrap up practice we would run the lines, or horses as we called them. The next day, we would do it all again. Our bones ached. It hurt our muscles to go upstairs for classes. Coach would remind us, “We may not be the tallest or the fastest team, but we will be the best conditioned team.” He was right. We ran the legs off every other team straight to the State Championship.

Conditioning has a purpose with the end in mind. It hurt going through those times, especially not knowing if it was going to pay off. In 1 Samuel 30, David and his men were on the run from Saul. They were considered fugitives. They had to move out of the country and live with one of Israel’s enemies. When Israel rose up to fight that country, David and his men went to fight on behalf of the enemy. They weren’t trusted, so they were sent back to the town of Ziklag where they had been staying. As they arrived, they saw smoke rising into the sky. Another enemy came in while they were at the battle front, burned their town and captured their wives and kids. David’s men began to talk of killing him. It was a dark day for David, but it was all part of God’s conditioning for him to become king.

David kept his eyes on God instead of his circumstances. Verses 6-7 say, “David strengthened himself with trust in his GOD. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God” (MSG). David understood that sometimes God’s plan takes us through painful circumstances. It often leads us to places we don’t understand. Like David, it’s important in those seasons when everything seems to be falling apart and our closest friends are turning on us, that we strengthen ourselves in our relationship with God, and that we consult with Him. Conditioning is often very painful, but there’s a reason and a season for it. We must go through that period in order to be prepared to endure what’s ahead. God’s plan and purpose for you are good. Don’t quit when things look bleak. Trust Him more and those times of conditioning will pay off.

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June 19, 2020 · 5:57 AM

Test Time

In high school I had a teacher who seemed to relish giving tests. He wore his “test tie”, which was the ugliest, most distracting tie you can think of, and it clashed with his outfit usually. He also would wear a red contact lens in one eye. As he passed out the test, he would close the other eye and give each person a hard gaze with the red one. During the test, he would often each chips when the room was quietest. When people would look up, he would say, “Oh! Is this bothering you?” Every once in a while he would also let out a random sinister laugh. To be honest, I looked forward to test days because I thought it was hilarious. He also was always good about preparing us for the tests. If you had taken the time to prepare, you would have been able to pass despite the distractions.

While some people cracked under his antics, most of us did well. Those that cracked were always given the opportunity to make it up by correcting their mistakes or asking for help during the test. I don’t know that God relishes having us go through tests as much as that teacher did, but He knows they are necessary to our growth and development. He prepares us for them and gives us every opportunity to pass them. When we fail in them, He’s always there to guide us and to help us endure them. He knows what your limits are better than you do, and He uses times of testing to stretch us beyond what we think we know or can handle. He also gives us enough grace in those times to sustain us as we learn to lean on His strength.

Here are some Bible verses on testing.

1. We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.

1 Corinthians 10:13 TPT

2. Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 1:12 AMP

3. My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1:2-4 GNT

4. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

Hebrews 2:18 NLT

5. There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Romans 5:3-5 MSG

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January 2, 2020 · 5:30 AM

Patient Endurance

Patience. It’s not a word we like very much. We like to have results quickly without having to put in the time and effort. We want answers given to us without us having to dig for them. We want growth without risk, and we want fruit without tending the garden. We’ve heard the saying, “Good things come to those who wait,” but who really wants to wait? We live in a now society where everything is given to us quickly. The temptation is to let our societal speed carry over into our spiritual growth.

Endurance. It’s not something you get in good times. It requires pushing yourself beyond what you think you’re capable of. It takes mental toughness to get it. You have to withstand pressure repeatedly in order to attain it. Giving up can’t be an option if you’re going to increase your endurance. You have to keep your mind on the prize to keep your mind off the struggle if you’re going to build your endurance. It isn’t given to you, it’s earned.

Both of these things are required of us as Christians. The more of God you want to know, the more patience and endurance you’re going to have to have. If we are willing to give up in the struggle, we will miss the blessings God is preparing us for. Hebrews 10:36 says, “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised” (NLT). When things appear to be going wrong in our life, God is preparing us to receive all He has for us.

We can’t be like Jacob and fight it. In Genesis 42, there was a famine in the land. Jacob sent 10 of his sons to get food in Egypt. Joseph wanted them all there so he pretended to not know them, sent them home with their food, and held one brother captive until they returned with their other brother. Jacob felt like he was being punished when God was just trying to get him to the land of plenty. In verse 36, he cried out, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”

If everything is going against you, it’s quite possible that God is actually trying to bless you. Jacob waited a long time before he sent his sons back to get more food and their brother. He could have been living without fear of starvation. He could have had the relationship with his son restored had he not delayed. God was trying to use what appeared to be negative circumstances to move him into a place of blessing. Imagine what God could be trying to do for you in your situation. Work on having patient endurance instead of complaining, and see what God does.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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September 6, 2019 · 5:53 AM

Indestructible Faith

Growing up, I was hard on shoes. No matter what shoes my parents bought, they would be falling apart within a couple of months. It didn’t matter if we purchased expensive shoes or cheap ones, they just couldn’t hold together. Then one day I heard about Nike Ndestrukt shoes. They weren’t that good looking, but they were built to withstand whatever you threw at them. For the first time in my life, I had a pair of shoes that were able to hold up under the toughest conditions. They got stained, beat up and worn out, but they never fell apart. They are a great example of how our faith needs to be.

Life is hard, and it’s even harder on our faith. If our faith isn’t strong enough, it can fall apart under the tough conditions we face. If we’re going to have indestructible faith that endures, it’s going to have to start with a mindset that says, “God, I’m going to trust you no matter what comes my way.” If your faith is built on anything less, it will waiver when times get tough. Faith is easy to have when things are going well. It’s when you can’t feel God’s presence in the struggle that you really find out how strong it is. When you’ve made up your mind to trust no matter what, you can be like Job and worship God even in the toughest conditions. It may be bruised, stained and worn out, but a faith that endures is what we all need.

Here are some Bible verses on having an enduring faith.

1. If your faith is not enduring, you will not endure.

Isaiah 7:9 GNT

2. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

3. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “You need to be alert and pray for the strength to endure the great temptation.”

Luke 22:46 TPT

4. But as for you, be clear-headed in every situation [stay calm and cool and steady], endure every hardship [without flinching], do the work of an evangelist, fulfill [the duties of] your ministry.

2 TIMOTHY 4:5 AMP

5. For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.

James (Jacob) 1:3 TPT

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