1 Peter 1:For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.
Endurance is a huge thing in living the abundant life!! We know that the present sufferings at times can hurt deeply, but God's plan causes us to soar out of those sufferings and grow closer to Him. Even as I write this I have a check in my spirit about this whole subject because it seems so negative and lost. Romans 8:18-23 seems to clear it up for me, so read it and see what it says to you. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
We not only endure, we soar!! We should never just look on the bad side of our struggles, but see how God is preparing us to soar as never before. It is in the waiting time for that soaring that we can become hopeless. But that should not be. God makes all things right after this time if we remember that He is on our side and loves us with an everlasting love. Isaiah the prophet spoke these words given to Him by God and they give us great hope in our suffering to know there is a better day coming. Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Now that is endurance that is not set on "just enduring" the situation we are in, but realizing there will be a time to soar as well.
The key is to attach ourselves to something more lasting, and more powerful. The scripture in 1 Peter tells us what that something is and it is the Word of God. Peter tells it like it is and reminds those he is writing to that his message to them has been just that. Wrap your life around the Word of God because it is eternal and powerful and gives us the wings we need to soar. Peter's message of hope was totally immersed in the Word of God, as ours should be. I guess my next question is "whatcha be preachin" with your life. Is your life a representation of the eternal Word of God? If not, there is no power in your message. You may say "Hey. I'm not a preacher!"" To which I say "Not so fast my friend." Your life as a believer is a constant message of "something." For Christians that "something" should be showing our lives are built on the Word of God! So if you are in the Word. Keep it up! If your life is not built on the Word of God. Time to change!! Everything else falls away and dies, but the Word of God endures forever. Now THAT is endurance. So.....Whatcha Preachin Preacher?
The Pilgrimage Continues....
David Warren
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