Enjoy the Stretch

How many times have you sat-through something then could really only describe it as an endurance? Out of cheer courtesy, I won't name those I've ... endured! For follower of Jesus, perseverance is more than endurance. Jesus said of the faithful Saints at Philadelphia "you have kept the word of My endurance [My command to persevere]" (Revelation 3:10). Through trials of testing, these Believers had not simply endured for endurance's sake; they had persevered with purpose, growing spiritually. Oswald Chambers describes it as a "stretching" ... "A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain" us. The stretching and straining are usually uncomfortable and endurance is what we pray for, however, our prayers should be more in-line with what God expects to produce in us. The Greek word "persevere" means "to be devote or constant to one." God has something to say about being constant and devoted to Him through times of stretching: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4, ESV). This should change the Believer's attitude toward the circumstances of his or her life. Are you being stretched? See the purpose and ... enjoy the stretch.