Supplement your faith with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness {2 Pet. 1:6}.
A young man felt called by God to join the ministry. He took the qualifying examination and failed hopelessly. He could have thought that he misunderstood God. But he didn’t. He retook the examination again the following year and passed one part, but failed the other by a single mark. He tried a third time, passed and became a powerful and effective minister of the Word. Through the years, thousands of people thanked God for this man’s endurance; his failures helped them realize how perfectly human their shepherd was.
Patient endurance is one of the basic qualities of the Christian believer. In its very nature and being, it is focused on something in the distant future - the final return of Jesus Christ when He will reign as King. This means that Christians have to endure hard times and even suffering. It is making a comeback after every setback and starting over after every failure; it is keeping your eyes on the horizon.
If you have stumbled in your faith somewhere along the way, for whatever reason, don’t lose heart. Don’t expect an easy and prosperous journey. It is said of Jesus, “Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” {Heb. 12:2}. Expect hardship and disappointment, but hold on to Jesus - until the very end.
God of grace, grant me the patience to endure and persevere to the very end. Amen.
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