The Rewards of Endurance
Looking back over your life so far, is there something you wish you hadn’t quit? Maybe you wish you had finished your college or postgraduate degree. Maybe you were in a challenging relationship, and you regret not trying harder to mend it. Perhaps you could’ve pushed through at that entry-level job that had great potential for advancement, but you didn’t want to wait?
Most of us try not to think about our failures any more than we must, but occasionally, it’s a good idea to consider the cost of quitting. Many people, myself included, live with scars and regrets from having quit on something or someone.
Why do we quit?
It’s far easier to take the route of avoiding a challenge than it is to have endurance. It’s more comfortable to watch TV at night than it is to take an online college course. It’s safer to avoid a difficult person than it is to dig deeper and work through the conflict. Similarly, our human nature finds it easier to do what we want than to wait patiently and expectantly for God’s best plans to unfold in our lives. It’s easier to quit than it is to surrender and give Him the reins.
As we reflect on where we now find ourselves in history, overall we are probably the least patient we’ve ever been. We now have and demand instant access to almost everything! Appointment TV is a thing of the past. With streaming television, no longer do we have to wait a week for the cliff hanger to be resolved! Google and Wikipedia have replaced the need to pour through a hardbound Encyclopedia in search of information. Texting allows for instant communication, and social media allows for instant reactions to events.
These days, our culture wants instant gratification, quick growth, easily achieved marital bliss and overnight spiritual maturity. If our expectations aren’t met, we’re prone to quit or simply move on to something else.
James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” We spend a lot of energy trying to avoid challenges and trials, but maybe we should thank God for them. Adversity helps us develop endurance – which is essential for facing life’s challenges. It sustains courage and gives staying power to discipline. Without endurance, visions and goals are no more than pipe dreams.
So, how can we develop endurance? We build endurance by learning how to push through the moments when we want to quit. The Bible makes it clear that, for the Christian, developing endurance is essential. Hebrews 10:36 tells us, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.” Galatians 6:9 instructs, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
When our Heavenly Father chooses to give us the gift of endurance, it’s one of the most loving gifts we can receive from Him. How is endurance gained? You may know the answer: through hardship. There’s no way around it. We attain increased stamina only by the discipline of forcing ourselves (or being forced) to push beyond our current limits and persevere through difficult, sometimes excruciating, seasons of discomfort. When you choose to keep going through the tough stuff, you become stronger, more steadfast, more confident, and full of hope. Endurance doesn’t just change the result you’re working toward; it changes who you are.
If you’re at a quitting point right now in some area of your life, count the cost very carefully before throwing in the towel. Draw on God’s strength, push through the hard thing, and in doing so, you will build endurance. Every time you break through a quitting point, a victory is gained in Heaven and in your life. The next time, even if the hill is steeper, you will have more endurance to climb it.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4 ESV).
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