The thing about endurance

Whenever you are going thru a trial or a difficult time you need endurance.
What helps us endure?


If our focus or goal is the relief of pain, it will make enduring much harder.
We need something to keep us going! We need to fix our eyes on a prize. We need to see something worth all the suffering.

In pregnancy, we may just want all te sickness and pain and discomfort and inconvenience to go away. But that won't be very motivating for endurance.
But enduring all the pain for the end result of a baby, a child, a new life may help.
YEs, we want the pain, the suffering to end... but the journey is no fun then at all, it becomes misery.

(One of these days i'll write a post about Miley Cyrus' "The Climb").

As Soo & i wait for the baby, we want to wait for the baby, not just look forward to when all the pain is gone.
We don't just do ministry, so we're done, but so people know Jesus.
We don't look forward to heaven simply b/c the misery will be over and i won't have to deal with my problems, but b/c God is there.

And here is where we push it up a notch.
As i encouraged Soo to think about why she goes thru the pain- for the baby, the Lord spoke to her through Hannah in 1 Samuel and showed us, even that is too small.
It's not about the baby, it's about God's glory.

When we suffer, it is not reliving pain. Nor is it about learning a lesson. It is not about ministry growing either.

We don't endure for these benefits, but we look to the glory of God!

Moses endured suffering with the people of Israel, frsakign the riches of Egypt- for a greater reward in heaven.
Abraham left his country, for God's country.
Jesus endured the cross, for joy: our salvation -- God's glory!

ENDURE!