Near the end of Paul's life he wrote...
...the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is store in for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
James said... Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)
God’s desire is that we would endure. That means we are willing to wait. It also means that we stick with it and not give up. We’ve all seen people who gave up on their faith. Some completely turned their backs on God. Others may not have turned against Him, but they gave up the dream they once had for doing great things for God.
Why? One reason is because things got too hard. They expected it to be easy but things didn’t turn out that way. But in my experience, that's not how the Christian life is. God has promised us a great life, but not an easy life. As James begins to bring his letter to a close, he addresses the topic of endurance.
In verse 11 he writes: "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered."
Have you noticed how much respect Billy Graham gets from the media and people around the world? Why do you think that is? It's because he has endured. He's made mistakes through the years, but he didn’t allow that to deter him. In his autobiography Dr. Graham says that there are things he wishes he had done differently. But he never quit. He never gave up. And now, we consider him blessed because he has persevered.
Joe Paterno, head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, is also a good example. He’s been there for 50 years. Some years were good and some years were bad. He's won National Championships and he's had losing seasons. He's been carried off the field in victory and he's had alumni calling for his resignation. And yet, he has persevered. God wants this for you. He wants you to wait on Him and not quit. His desire is that you endure until the very end, because those who endure are blessed.
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