My symptoms would fluctuate throughout the day but I did manage to make it to the gym and push through a workout. Recipes turned out really good but by the end of the day it was flu feeling and exhausted.
I realize there is no way I would have been able to go to the gym or even stick with cooking from my list of "allowed foods" if God hadn't provided me with the one thing I need most this day....Endurance.
Endurance is the steady determination to keep going, regardless of the temptation to slow down or give up.
Not endurance mustered from my own strength (it was painfully evident that was lacking) but Christ empowered endurance.
Endurance almost always requires patience.
Patient endurance does not come easy. Our society is a clear example of that. We want the right now. The reward without the sacrifice, the prize without the race. The sad reality in so many areas like jobs, marriages, and even churches has become a failure to endure.
The Stick-to-it philosophy has became a relic of another day and age. I know because I've been a participant of it in the past.When we rely completely on our own strength, our own ability, we discover things become painfully difficult. We're human, we're flawed. So instead of sticking to it, instead of turning to something other than our own personal aptitude in the situation, we give up...move on to something else.
All the while God was calling us to rely on Him. To depend on His unyielding strength and His unfailing ability to get us through. I can say this because I've been there. But it's because I've been there that I can now choose to endure. God never promised we wouldn't face trials but He did promise He'd see us through. We can endure through Him because He's already overcome anything we are or could go through! "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
It makes me wonder just how many rewards we've missed out on because we chose not to endure.
I'm not saying it's easy. It's not. Just like running a marathon doesn't come easy or having a good marriage doesn't come easy. It takes work,it takes sacrifice.Christ-centered endurance doesn't just happen.
A good runner doesn't just show up to a race without practicing and say, “Dear God, if you could just go out there and win this race that'd be swell.” No, they train, they push through the pain and build up strength so they can say, “God,I'm going to do the best I can. Will you enable me to run hard and if it's your will, to win?”
James 1:2-4 says "Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
I realize the difference between eating a rice cake or eating a donut doesn't cause much of a dilemma to most people...their choice is easy (unless they're trying to count calories).But to me it does.While donuts are the best food ever invented I know I can't have one right now...maybe not ever. But I'm okay with making those choices one step at a time. It becomes about whether I'm hungry for temporary satisfaction or permanent satisfaction. While the difference today may seem small, the collective difference will be huge.
Endurance (in anything) is the call of Jesus to follow him. To say despite the pain, despite the mountain I see in front of me I choose to push forward knowing the great reward will far outweigh the trial. It allows us to finish strong for God's glory. There is no greater joy or bigger privilege.
This day was tough but that's why I'm thankful God's mercies are new every single day.He knew we'd need it. He knew if He could help us endure the trials we'd come out better than ever and He'd be glorified in the process.Smart God;)
"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."Hebrews 12:1
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