Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
One of the hardest verses for me to understand as a Christian is this verse. Here's why: because I struggle to understand how I can rejoice in times of suffering.
Think of a time in your life when you've navigated through an illness, loss, betrayal. How do we rejoice in moments like that? When I think of suffering, I don't think of joy, right?
Yet the writer tells us we can rejoice because something happens in times of suffering. He says this: "We know that they help us develop endurance."
Developing Endurance
How do we develop endurance? I ask myself that question when I read this verse, and it's very simple, yet it's one of the hardest things to do. We develop endurance by enduring.
It sounds so basic, yet it is so true. Think of running a marathon. The only way we endure is by continuing to run. We have this goal to finish the race, and there are so many obstacles that come our way.
The writer's saying, when you endure, here's what happens. Verse 4: "And endurance develops strength of character."
Here's what happens when we endure. We develop strength.
What Endurance Looks Like
Sometimes endurance looks like this: waking up every day, reading your Bible, praying when you don't feel anything—like you feel discouraged and you're like, "I don't feel God right now. I don't sense God close to me"—but I'm going to continue to move.
Sometimes endurance looks like this: you go to church even though you struggle to connect with people, or you're struggling to even receive the message because your heart's not in a good place, yet you continue to go to church.
The Key to Endurance Is Movement
The key to endurance is movement. That's why the Bible says "Enoch walked with God." Our faith is tied to movement.
Keep Moving
I don't know what you're going through today, but my encouragement to you is simple: keep moving.
Maybe you're in the thick of it right now. Maybe you're battling an illness. Maybe you're anxious. Maybe you're depressed. Whatever giant is in front of you right now, the call for you and I is to endure—and not to endure alone.
Don't Endure Alone
Find somebody around you that's going to encourage you, that's going to place courage in you when you want to quit. One of the biggest blessings in life is staying connected to the body of Christ. Because God uses people to encourage us, to heal us, and to correct us.
Our job is to keep moving.
