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. ENDURANCE. "My son, if you aspire to be a servant of the Lord, prepare yourself for testing... Bear every hardship that is sent you; be patient under humiliation, whatever the cost. For gold is assayed by fire, and the Lord proves men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust in Him and He will help you; steer a straight course and set your hope on Him." (From Eccus 2:1-6 NEB). 'We never have more than we can bear. The present hour we are always able to endure. As our day, so is our strength. If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity to our little strength, He sends first one, then another, then removes both, and lays on a third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not enough look at our trials in this continuous and successive view. Each one is sent to teach us something, and altogether have a lesson which is beyond the power of any to teach alone.' (H. E. Manning). "Happy the man who remains steadfast under trial, for having passed that test he will receive for his prize the gift of life promised to those who love God." (James 1:12 NEB). "Brothers, take as a pattern of the suffering of evil and the exercising of patience the prophets, who spoke in the Name of Jehovah. Look! We pronounce happy those who have endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is very tender in affection and merciful." (James 5:10,11). "You need endurance, if you are to do God's Will and win what He has promised." (Heb 10:36 NEB). "For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who supplies endurance and comfort grant you to have among yourselves the same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 15:4-6). "Remembering that Christ endured bodily suffering, you must arm yourselves with a temper of mind like his. When a man has thus endured (1) bodily suffering he has finished with sin, and for the rest of his days on earth he may live, not for the things that men desire, but for what God wills." (1 Peter 4:1,2 NEB).
"So, then, because we have so great a
cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight and the sin
that easily entangles us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, as we look intently at
the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus. For the joy that was set
before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
Indeed, consider
closely the one who has endured such contrary talk by sinners against their own
interests, that you may not get tired and give out in your souls."
(Heb 12:1 "For it is a fine thing if a man endure the pain of undeserved suffering because God is in his thoughts. What credit is there in fortitude when you have done wrong and are beaten for it? But when you have behaved well and suffer for it, your fortitude (2) is a fine thing in the sight of God." (1 Peter 2:19-21 NEB). "Now the illustration means this: The seed is the word of God... As for that on the fine soil, these are the ones that, after hearing the word with a fine and good heart, retain it and bear fruit with endurance." (From Luke 8:11 & 15). "Keep on remembering the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great contest under sufferings, sometimes while you were being exposed as in a theatre both to reproaches and tribulations, and sometimes while you became sharers with those who were having such an experience." (Heb 10:32,33). "More than this: let us even exult in our present sufferings, because we know that suffering trains us to endure, and endurance brings proof that we have stood the test, and this proof is the ground of hope. Such a hope is no mockery, because God's love has flooded our inmost heart through the Holy Spirit He has given us." (Rom 5:3-5 NEB). "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet with various trials, knowing as you do that this tested quality of your faith works out endurance. But let endurance have its work complete, that you may be complete and sound in all respects, not lacking in anything." (James 1:2-4). "And you will be objects of hatred by all people on account of my name; but he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved." (Matt 10:22).
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