Endurance: Follow up on “Painful” post

 

Yesterday I had blogged on the issue that making a change is often painful or uncomfortable. The post can be found (here).
I now want to address maintaining our endurance when the pressure is on while making those changes. When we are hit from every side and when things become uncomfortable or we feel week there are tools that can help us keep us pressing on without giving in to defeat.

ENDURANCE: The power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

I look at the strong athlete, able to overcome his opponent in victory and the sheer satisfaction on the face, the release of tension in the body and the knowledge that their endurance saw them through. They would not have become the victor over another seasoned athlete if they had not prepared for that victory and fought through the uncomfortable. We were created to be overcomers. We have it within us to overcome the things that are weighing us down and holding us back. We were built to be victorious.

How I will endure the difficult:

Desire: Do you really fully want that what you are working towards? Having the desire to overcome and obtain your victory will help you keep your mind on the reward rather than the struggle. If you want a change and if you want the victory, purpose to make it a desire of your heart that is bigger than the comfortable.
I’ve made sure my desire lines up with the word of God and His will for me. Then I can know with all my heart, soul and mind, that I can obtain my goal even in the midst of pain for the moment. He will go before me, as I stay steadfast on the path.

Psalm 37:5- Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Confidence: Being bold enough to know that you will see victory, in the end, as your flesh comforts rise up and you want to give in, having a deep knowledge that you can, will go a long way to keep your head in the race until the end. HE is my victory.

Philippians 1:6-Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Focus: Know what you want. Know the goal. Keep your eye on your victory. If I look at the here and now, I may give in to what is more comfortable. Yet, when I keep my eyes on being the overcomer in my present uncomfortable situation, my moment pales in comparison.
Know it, see it, and do it.
For me, I focus on the fact that God is faithful. His ways are higher than my ways. I know He will remain with me and I find my endurance in His truth for my life.

Colossians 3:2- Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Strength: Le’ts face it, we get weak. We want to give up. So building our strength in the downtime, keeps us ready to fight and walk-in endurance during the difficult process. We can build our self up physically but I also must remember that the true strength to endure the difficulties in this life, comes from my Lord. He is my strength and shield. Building myself up in the Spirit is very much as important as building up my physical self.

Colossians 1:11- being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.

Philippians 4:13- I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
These are the few truths that I am thinking on today, as I face the race ahead of me. I desire the change, I desire the health and I desire the victory. I am confident that these desires, are the same desires of my God and He will remain faithful to strengthen me to reach the desires of my heart. I will remain steadfast and strengthened in my endurance despite the unpleasent. One day I will have that smile of victory on my face, the shoulders relaxed from a job well done and I will be able to say that I overcame.

 

Teenite: Thank YOU!

The event:  Teen night … A time where we encourage the teens to minister one to another and make a difference in each others lives and our schools.

Object Lesson: Lemon Jello was fed to each other by hand while wearing blindfolds.

( the teens pointed out spoons could be painful)

With each ‘attempt’ of getting Jello into their teammates mouth, the receiving teen had to say thank you, weather the Jello made it’s mark or not.

Message:

There are times in our lives when we ‘think’ we know how God is going to deliver something to us. We may have thought it through so many times, we know exactly how we will receive it and what it will taste like. THEN we get a wammy and how we thought things would be is not how they are at all.

It can still be good, it is still him, but it is different and we are to give thanks always.

In this same manner, life can throw us curve balls that we never expected, we can be hurt, bruised, torn down and stomped on and even in those times we are to give thanks to the LORD.

The Lord is ALWAYS good regardless of our circumstances. He will ALWAYS meet us, and see us through.

Scripture Reference:

1 Thesselonians 5:8-

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Challenge this day my friend:

Reflect back on how God has STILL been good regardless. Think on His goodness and GIVE THANKS. In every situation, in every trial, in every joy, give Him thanks!

Philippians 4:6-

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to the Lord.

Lights, Camera , Action!

My good friend and I are at the Joyce Meyers conference this weekend. It has been a great joy to be involved with wonderful praise and worship with others and to hear a speaker that has blessed my walk greatly over the years. MUCH word has been shared, along with the grace of Jesus. The title this week was ” I am okay, and I am on my way. This sums up my life over the last year, regardless, of each situation, I AM okay, and I am on my way to the greatness in store for me.

Well, I did not put two and two together, but at Joyce Meyers conferences, there is a BIG camera on a boom that looks over the audience, because her conferences are then televised. I did not mind the big camera too much, even though there are rumors that cameras add ten pounds. For the most part I forgot the camera all together, but I would look at that camera if I wanted to itch my nose or shift in my seat or something completely embarrassing to make sure it wasn’t pointed at me, and forgot it the rest of the time.

Then at the end of the evening after shifting, scratching my nose and making ‘modest’ lady like adjustments, I look over and right on me is a small camera that the whole time was moving all over the audience and I didn’t see it! It was right on me as I was making some adjustments….So let me say right now, Joyce Meyers, if you find this awkward looking dark haired thirty something year old, looking down to make sure I was covered and  adjusting my shirt, yah, well, it could have been me! 

This moment made me laugh at myself, as embarrassing moments often do, and I realized, I had my eye on the ‘big’ camera, often like I do in life, I have my eye on the ‘big’ picture.

So much so that when I have a vision or a dream and I want to succeed, I may get discouraged, looking at that BIG picture and it not happening as quickly as I want it to. Or when the BIG problems mount up for a moment they are all I see. So focused am I on the big thing, that I miss all the little spectacular things going on around me day by day. There are many good things that I should be thinking on. 

I must take time to see ALL the work about me that He has done. All the moments that I CAN rejoice. Even if I have not reached my destination and obstacles come in my way over and over, He is always at work and doing great things in my life.

Sometimes those ‘little’ things turn out to be even more significant in reaching the dream He placed in us anyway. That ‘little’ camera may be the one that captures my laughter and joy in the teaching rather than the BIG camera. It is important we do not get so focused on our obtaining that which is in our heart, that we ‘miss’ the other good stuff. In this case I am not quite sure if the cameras captured my smiles and pure joy or my awkward moments, but it doesn’t matter, He is GOOD no matter what the focus was 🙂

 

Challenge this day my friends: Don’t get lost in your moments with tunnel vision only seeing the dream, the good or the bad, but instead be observant seeing ALL that He has done. For HE IS GOOD!!!

 

Philippians 4:8-

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.