Hope Inspires Endurance

“We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance

inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I Thessalonians 1:3

 

 

 

Our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ inspires endurance.

Why is Hope necessary to be a partaker of the next great move of God?

My bible defines hope this way:

to desire something with confident expectation of its fulfillment.

How many of you would say you have a feeling, desire, anticipation, expectation, trust or reliance on the fact that God is on the move in the earth?

Then, stated simply, you have hope in and for that next great move of God!

Let’s dig a little deeper – the word endurance is defined as:

1.       To stand (pain, fatigue, etc…) to bear, to undergo

2.       To put up with; tolerate

3.       The ability to last, continue, remain

4.       The ability to bear pain, distress or fatigue without flinching

5.       To hold out, that which is endured, fortitude (we might call it guts)

Allow me a little liberty with I Thessalonians 1:3 to express it this way:

Hope inspires in us the ability to bear fatigue and pain without giving up or giving in. We might say hope gives us the guts to continue when others have long since given up.

To me that sounds very much like something I am going to need when the world around me is crumbling and God pours His Spirit out in such a great way that the His children are called upon 24/seven.

When that happens the servants of God who would minister in His name will need the endurance that comes from hope in Jesus Christ.

I know that ministry is hard work but we have yet to know what hard work truly is as it relates to a worldwide move of God – let me re-phrase that- to a local move of God. You see because when it’s ‘out there’ or ‘over there’ it’s different than ‘right here’!

When it’s ‘over there’ and not ‘here’ then someone else needs the hope and endurance but not me. 

Now don’t misunderstand me. I know His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Serving God is a joy but sometimes serving man – in His Name – is just plain work. I need hope and I need the endurance that that hope brings and so do you!