Psalm 117:2
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."
Psalm 118:1
His love; His faithfulness; His goodness... ENDURES
Endure:
1. Patiently suffer through something painful or difficult
To undergo, go through, live through, experience, meet, encounter
2. Remains in existence in spite of circumstances
Lasts, lives, lives on, goes on, survives, abides, continues, persists, perseveres, stays, stays the course
God does the impossible. Since God is defined by His unconditional, unwarranted, undeserving love - His agape' love - God's love does the impossible.
Sitting in my kitchen, praying to God about the circumstances I am in, asking Him to help me refocus off of the circumstances and onto what He says my focus should be, asking Him to provide His peace so I can rest in the midst of these circumstances, asking Him if my expectations are wrong and if I am out in front of Him, asking Him what I am supposed to do and pray about while in these circumstances, I open my Bible wanting, needing, hoping God will speak. Hoping God will choose this morning to speak to me through Scripture. Knowing He can do this. Knowing this is how He speaks to me. Wondering if today He will speak to me because I need Him to speak to me. I need to hear His wisdom, His comfort, His assurances. For, I am allowing my circumstances to consume me and rob me of the vision God has given me. A good and beautiful vision for my community.
I start in Psalm 117, which is part of the grouping of Scripture through which God has been speaking and encouraging me through the fulfillment of the promised vision. This Psalm is only two verses long. Two verses. So, I begin. Doubting God will choose today to speak to me. Doubting God...
At verse two, He speaks. Endures. Endures... endures.
Knowing that the following Psalm, Psalm 118, is also going to start with the character of God being enduring, I pull out my phone and look up the word endures. I know the meaning. I've even journaled about God's unconditional love - His agape' love - enduring to the point of pain yet remaining steadfast as He loves the unlovable, the rebellious, the undeserving. Endures. I cannot go on. I must meditate on endures.
Why did God choose to inspire the word endures when He describes how He is, how He acts, how He lives? It could have been, "... the faithfulness of the Lord is guaranteed forever." Or, continues on forever. Or, remains forever. Or, "you can count on God's faithfulness forever." Instead, God chooses the word endures. It's an active word. God is in action as He fulfills His faithfulness to us; to me; to those in my circumstances. God's ability to love us at all times, even when we are rebellious and hateful and evil, is based on His ability to endure us, endure the circumstances.
What is God saying? His love, His faithfulness, His goodness, His promises, His ability to move through the circumstances to fulfill His promises, all of this comes to be because God endures.
Now, I'm sitting in my kitchen picturing God enduring. And what do I see? God patiently suffering through the madness of this world as He continues to love us, provide for us showing no partiality, fulfill His promises made, forgive us, encourage us, continuing on beside us, continuing to call us, continuing to walk His focused path towards the promised goal... even though we doubt. Even though we don't deserve His love and mercy and provisions. Even though we don't acknowledge Him. Even though we don't believe in Him. Even though we don't love Him in return. Even if we despise Him. Even if we run from Him. Even if we don't trust Him or trust Him completely. Even if we've convinced ourselves that He doesn't exist. Even if we are mad at Him or blame Him for our circumstances or blame Him for the ills of the world. Even when we think He's unjust or oblivious to us. Even when; even when...
God endures. He patiently suffers through our humanness, continuing to love us and be faithful to us, keeping His focus on His ultimate goal as He fulfills that promise. God loves us and is faithful to us even when it is difficult to find a reason to fulfill His promises made to us. God lives through and lives on no matter what we do to Him. God perseveres through life's chaos and madness focusing on His glory so that, when everything comes to fruition, He will share it with us. Because He knows that, at that time, we will be amazed that He continued onward when He had every reason not to. When He had every reason not to bring us along and share His life of paradise with us. When He had every reason to leave us behind. Leave us out of the promise. Leave us in our circumstances and to our own demise. Yet, God endures and does not allow us and who we are and what our circumstance are to keep Him from fulfilling His promises or to change who He is to us. He perseveres. He endures.
Earlier this week, two friends in a Wednesday morning prayer group encouraged me. One gentleman encouraged me to not dwell on the circumstances. To focus on what God had planned for me. To not choose circumstance #1 or #2 but to choose God's choice and that is "Awesomeness." The second gentleman said that, like Jesus was on the path to Jerusalem in obedience to God despite the known and unwanted circumstances, that I too was on that path to Jerusalem. Those comments shaped my prayers. Shaped my thoughts. Caused me to try to shape my days differently.
As God always has it and displays, today's encouraging message to me reinforces what those two friends said to me and I realized what my circumstances are. They are a gift. The gift of God's endurance. I have been given an amazing gift - and I'll be bluntly honest, I'm not sure I like this gift - it's the gift of endurance. I am tasting ever so lightly what it's like for God to endure us. For God to endure through the circumstances we create while He focuses on the ultimate, promised vision of glory. And now I have a glimpse of Jesus, walking on the road towards Jerusalem. Knowing what He will face. Knowing what He will suffer. Knowing His heart will break when He sees His friends fall away. Knowing He will take on the penalty of the unjust. In obedience He walks. His focus is on God, who God is, God's truths, how wonderful God is. His focus is on God's promises. God's realities. God's glory. And Jesus knows that God will share that glory with Him and all of us, if Jesus Himself endures. And so, this phase I am going through is a gift.
Hebrews 12:1-13
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when He rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
