“Endurance reaps great rewards.”

A thought by Larry Osborne (2015-04-01) from his book, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope,Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture (Kindle Location 793). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But here is the problem. Larry says, “It’s no fun getting there. Perhaps that’s why Paul and James both made a point to encourage us not to give up when stressed or pushed to our limits. They knew what happens to those who cut bait and run away. They also knew what happens to those who hang on and let endurance finish its work. They knew they end up handling the kinds of trials that break most others.”

Now I know what we really want is to not have to even go through being pushed to our limit but that is not the way that the Christian life works.  Now maybe the cut bait and run away life works that way but not the mature Christ follower way of life.  And there are rewards for our endurance.

Larry then says, “Endurance produces the mental toughness we’ve come to call confidence and courage, both of which are desperately needed to survive in Babylon. Any time we overcome something we once feared or dreaded, we walk out with a new level of confidence and courage that comes from conquering something we once feared. False confidence and bravado are more hot air than reality. They tend to melt away the moment the real enemy shows up. But the genuine confidence and courage that come on the backside of endurance are different. They run quiet and deep. They don’t melt away when the enemy shows up or wins a battle. They settle in for the long haul, confident that a setback or two is no big deal.”

Here is what James 1: 2 – 4 (NLT) says, “When troubles of any kind 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.”  That is a great promise but you have to do the premise which is the first part in order to get the promise.  Or to get the reward.

Larry finishes this section by saying, “So hang in there. No matter what you’re going through at the moment, God hasn’t forgotten you. He has a master plan. He may well be preparing you for a place called Babylon. And if he is, it’s not so that you can survive. It’s so you can thrive.” 

I want to thrive.  What about you?