Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is not a small matter. People have lists of things that are important to them, but the most important decision that any human being can make is to accept Christ and receive the salvation he offers. The Book of Revelation hits this home in a very real way. Jesus Christ told the disciples in John 16:33(NLT), “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Being a Christian—a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ—is not an easy life. It’s a rewarding life, a life that is dedicated to God, and we must be clear that the discipline of endurance is a must in order to live this sanctified life.
Whether it’s our quest for marriage, our desires for greater health and finances, or most importantly, our desire to go higher in Christ, we have an enemy that is fighting against us on those things. One of the biggest mistakes that we make as Christians is to underestimate the enemy’s power and the degree to which he will fight us. We should never do this. Jesus Christ tells us in John 16:33 that we’re going to endure trials and sorrows in the earth, and all those trials and sorrows have their root in satan’s tricks, traps, and plots.
Our Lord and Savior makes it crystal clear that we’re not to fear satan. 1John 4:4(KJV) declares that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” The Holy Spirit lives within every born-again believer, and his power has no equal, so we should never live in fear, but we would be wise to have a healthy understanding regarding the depth of satan’s evil and wickedness. We should understand that he has the power to carry out the evil and wickedness of his plans. The only reason that he is not permitted to snuff out our lights is because we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We are kept by God’s amazing grace and our allegiance to live through it.
God warns us in 1Peter 5:8-9(NLT), “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” Any challenge that we may be enduring right now is not unique to our individual lives. Saints are suffering all over the globe, but we are not defeated. The strategy that God has given us to overcome is to keep the faith and be strong in it.
There are areas in our lives where we have not done this. We have not kept the faith and remained strong in it, and these are the openings the enemy looks for. Take for instance, a single woman’s desire to move her status from ‘single’ to ‘happily married’. If we think that having the desire alone is enough to cause it to manifest, we are mistaken, because the enemy will look for holes in that desire.
Loneliness is lack, it is one of the weapons the enemy uses to come against our desire for marriage. We must know that the enemy doesn’t have card blanche to do anything he wants to do to our lives. If that were the case, he would have snuffed us out long ago. Sin belongs to him. It’s his territory and he is allowed to go where sin hangs out. Let’s say that we have robbed God of tithes and offerings, or we’ve repeatedly sinned against our own bodies. If we’ve done these things without repentance, we have to know that the enemy will bring a case against us in the Courts of Heaven. God is a Righteous Judge, and if we’re carrying something—sin—that belongs to the enemy, then the enemy has a legal right to come where sin abides. When he comes, he tries to bring disruption, destruction, disappointment, or death.
Hardships will come, but we are not without spiritual armor. However, in order to use it, we have to put it on. We must get into God’s Word in a greater way and seek to develop the patience and endurance that our Heavenly Father requires. Romans 5:3-4(AMP) tells us, “3 And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; 4 and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation].” We can never give up on our dreams and desires for more abundance in our lives. We must patiently endure with the full faith that God will forgive and help us. If we keep our eyes focused on our Heavenly Father and ‘faint not’, we will pass the test of endurance and reap the rewards of our allegiance and obedience to Him. ■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
“The Test of Endurance”, written by Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.