2 Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.
This morning, we honored the 20+ graduating high school seniors who attend our church. Graduation takes place later this week. I would suspect that there are a lot of people – students and parents – who feel as though they have been undergoing an 18-year endurance test. I also expect a lot of them will be looking around the day after graduation and asking, “What now?!”
Believe it or not, I was in high school once! I remember the eagerness to get out of school and move ahead with “bigger and better things.” I remember the hard work and “patient endurance” of three FULL years (including summers) in college, followed by nights and summer days spent sitting in a graduate school classroom – all in anticipation of college degrees, better pay, and the personal satisfaction and accomplishment of obtaining a Master’s Degree.
I remember waiting for nieces and nephews to arrive… counting the days until we moved home to begin a new business venture – and into new houses that we had built. And I remember not-so-fun “endurance tests”… waiting for my casts to come off after broken bones – or healing to occur after a surgery…waiting and watching as a loved one suffered through his/her last days on this earth… dreading the time when a visit would end and we would have to say “Goodbye” to someone precious and dear. And in ALL of these instances, I had the perfect example of “patient endurance”… the infallible model of perseverance and fortitude…the comfort and serenity of knowing that Someone much bigger and more powerful than I was in complete control.
Whether you are 18 or 88, life is full of events and experiences that test our endurance and cause us to “hurry up and wait.” Having Jesus by your side can make the difference in whether you worry and fret your way through these situations… or whether you take them in stride with joy and confidence. As long as you have a “full understanding and expression of the love of God” in your heart, you will have the “patient endurance that comes from Christ.” This is an equation for joy and success in anyone’s book!
As you look ahead to a new week – or even a new chapter in your life – stop and take time to evaluate your relationship with Jesus. Is He “front and center” in everything you do… every decision you make? The importance you give Jesus in your life will directly correlate to how you answer the question “What now?” Is Jesus guiding your answer and giving you patient endurance? Isn’t it time He did?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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