Whatever problems or circumstances you face, use endurance, go through them, and hold on until the end of it. Do not complain or give up! You are in the right place to learn how to endure!
Updated: Saturday, September 10, 2022
Colossians 1:11 (EXB)
Patiently not giving up
God has given us the tool to endure every test, trial, heartache, and hardship that life brings. I remind you, child of God, that you were given ‘patience’ to handle every situation. In case you are not in sync with me, when you received the Holy Spirit, you received patience! As a result, you will not give up, but hold on and go through when troubles or hardships come.
You Can Go Through Whatever You’re Going Through
We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding his Spirit gives. 10 Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. 11 His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.
12 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who forgives our sins and sets us free. Colossians 1:9-14 (CEV)
The apostles endured much
An interesting fact that ministers in particular and every child of God should be mindful of is found in 2 Corinthians 6:3. Do not offend or give anyone a reason to criticize the things you do. 2 Corinthians 6:4, 5, 8-10 further help us understand endurance as it gives a list of what the apostles endured:
| 2 Corinthians 6:4 | 2 Corinthians 6:5a | 2 Corinthians 6:5b | 2 Corinthians 6:8-10 |
|
|
|
|
The Apostles never gave up
We don’t want people to find anything wrong with our work. So we do nothing that will be a problem to others.
4 But in every way we show that we are servants of God. We never give up, even though we face troubles, difficulties, and problems of every kind. 5 We are beaten and thrown into prison. People get upset at us and fight against us. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. 2 Corinthians 6:3-5 (ERV)
Patience
8 Whether we were honored or dishonored or praised or cursed, we always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not. (CEV)
9 The world ignores us, but we are known to God; we live close to death, but here we are, still very much alive. We have been injured but kept from death. 10 Our hearts ache, but at the same time we have the joy of the Lord. We are poor, but we give rich spiritual gifts to others. We own nothing, and yet we enjoy everything. 2 Corinthians 6:8-10 (TLB)
Definitions
The Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1828 defines ‘endurance‘ as ‘a bearing or suffering; a continuing under pain or distress without resistance, or without sinking or yielding to the pressure; sufferance; patience’. My definition – endurance is the ability to patiently continue, to go through and to suffer without giving up under all conditions or in any situation.
Greek
- μακροθυμία makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah) 3115 – (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude {Mickelson}; patience, forbearance, longsuffering {Strong’s}; 1) patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance 2) forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs.
- long-sufferance, long-suffering, longsuffering – Bearing injuries or provocation for a long time; patient; not easily provoked. patient endurance of pain or unhappiness.
- ὑπομονή hupomone (hoop-om-on-ay’) 5281 – cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy {Mickelson}; remaining faithful to God and His purpose for you ( through trials and sufferings; Thayer’s definition – a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance; in the NT the characteristic of a person who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.
- patience – The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from christian submission to the divine will.
Other endurance synonyms1
- strength – The quality or state of being strong; ability to do or to bear; capacity for exertion or endurance, whether physical, intellectual, or moral; force; vigor; power; as, strength of body or of the arm; strength of mind, of memory, or of judgment.
- sufferance – The state of suffering; the bearing of pain; endurance. Patient endurance especially of pain or distress.
- stamina, staying power, toughness – Whatever constitutes the principal strength or support of anything; power of endurance; backbone; vigor; as, the stamina of a constitution or of life; the stamina of a State. Enduring strength and energy.
- tolerance – The endurance of the presence or actions of objectionable persons, or of the expression of offensive opinions; toleration. The power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions.
- forbearance – The exercise of patience; long suffering; indulgence towards those who injure us; lenity; delay of resentment or punishment.
- steadfastness – Firmness of mind or purpose; fixedness in principle; constancy; resolution; as the stedfastness of faith. He adhered to his opinions with steadfastness.
- perseverance – The act of persevering; persistence in anything undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of any business, or enterprise begun. (Theological) Continuance in a state of grace until it is succeeded by a state of glory; sometimes called final perseverance, and the perseverance of the saints.
If you have more time to study, please continue. If not, please jump to the end to give feedback in the comment area/poll. Go to end.
Lasting through it all
Mark 13:13b
Meet the condition
Matthew 10:16-23 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he who endures to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another: for truly I say to you, You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, before the Son of man comes. (RKJNT)
Endure unto the end…
Some do not understand salvation is conditional; in other words, in order to be saved, there are certain requirements that we must meet. In this lesson we focus on endurance (perseverance; patience). NOTE: At some time in the future I will cover salvation. Jesus helps us understand this condition in Matthew 10:22 as He tells us to “endure unto the end“. What does that mean? Let’s look at various translations to get a better understanding: whoever ‘stands firm‘, ‘holds out‘ and ‘remains faithful‘, until the end of life.
Endurance in the truth
It is most unfortunate that staying with the truth is not for the majority. Be careful that you do not become a ‘tell me what I want to hear” child of God. Please take a moment to consider this warning compiled from various translations using 2 Timothy 4:3-4. The time is coming when people will not listen to {tolerate; put up with; endure} the truth {sound; healthy; wholesome teaching / instructions2}.
Instead, they will look for teachers who will say what they want to hear to support their desires {please them; pacify, gratify and encourage the way they want to live}. They will no longer listen to the truth, but will follow and listen to those who will tell them made-up or sugar-coated stories {tales designed to hold their interest and encourage their financial support}.
Ministers must persevere
2 Timothy 4:1-5 These words are from my heart to you. I say this before God and Jesus Christ. Some day He will judge those who are living and those who are dead. It will be when Christ comes to bring His holy nation. 2 Preach the Word of God. Preach it when it is easy and people want to listen and when it is hard and people do not want to listen. Preach it all the time.
Use the Word of God to show people they are wrong. Use the Word of God to help them do right. You must be willing to wait for people to understand what you teach as you teach them.
3 The time will come when people will not listen to the truth. They will look for teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear. 4 They will not listen to the truth. Instead, they will listen to stories made up by men. 5 You must watch for all these things. Do not be afraid to suffer for our Lord. Preach the Good News from place to place. Do all the work you are to do. (NLV)
If you have more time to study, please continue. If not, please jump to the end to give feedback in the comment area/poll. Go to end.
Scriptures to read and study
Note: the key verse(s) are enclosed in parenthesis (#).
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (4 {hupomone} and 6 {makrothumia}); Colossians 1:3-18 ( 11); Matthew 10:16-26 [compare: Mark 13:3-13 (13) compare {Matthew 24:3-14 (13); Luke 21:7-19 (19)}]; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 (3-8); 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (2-4); 2 Timothy 2:1-13 (3-4); James 5:7-11 (11); 1 Peter 2:18-25 (18-19); 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (12-13)
Conclusion
These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. 12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (NLT)
Warning
Let the experiences of the children of Israel be an example. Because they did not endure unto the end of their journey to the promised land. Never become self-righteous or too comfortable because God is using you. Moses* and Aaron**, who were hand-picked by God to lead His people, were not allowed to enter the “promised land***”.
- Foot note:
- *Moses: see Exodus 3:4-10. **Aaron, his brother: see Exodus 4:14-17. ***See (Numbers 20:6-12 (12); Deuteronomy 3:23-29; 31:1-8, 14-30).
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe [trust] me, and because you did not honor me as holy [show my holiness] before the people [sons/children of Israel], you will not lead them [this community; congregation; assembly] into the land I will give them [20:22–29; Deuteronomy 34:1–12].” Numbers 20:12 (EXB)
Do not make the same mistake
1 Corinthians 10:5 warns us that God was not pleased with most of the children of Israel in what we call the wilderness experience AKA the exodus [proven by a census; Numbers 26:1-65 {63-65}; Jude 1:5-11 {5}]. 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 summarizes the reasons for the Lord’s displeasure:
- First of all, they grumbled, murmured, and complained about the desert, lack of water, food (i.e., manna), etc. Read Numbers 21:4-9 (4-6); Numbers 14:1-38 (2-3 and 27-37).
- Next, they had illicit sex with the Moabite woman and worshiped idols {Baal of Peor} (Numbers 9:1-3). Twenty-four thousand died (Numbers 25:9). {read Numbers 13-14 (14:26-45); Deuteronomy 9:6-29; Numbers 26:5-11}
Whatever challenges, problems, or circumstances you face. Use endurance as well as patience, go through it, hold on, and you can endure to the end of it. Do not be like the children of Israel, do not complain or give up, go through it and be blessed—♥ Tim.
Related studies/lessons/snacks for further Spiritual growth:
♥ Question for ‘endurance’: Are you determined to remain faithful to God until your human life ends?
See what is available on the Sound Truth Ministry website.
Sources:
1Most synonym definitions provided by Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828) – (website no longer available) || 2KJV: ‘they will not endure sound doctrine’
Amen to the highest praise(+)