The Secret Behind Unbreakable Endurance

Joel 2:11
The LORD thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the LORD is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?

Joel 2:12
Rend Your Heart
“Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Endurance is the quality we all need. If we can endure, we can achieve much more than we already have. Endurance is the ability to accept suffering as we look forward to something better after suffering. Endurance is bearing the pain when quitting would have alleviated the pain. Endurance is the refusal to give up when giving up seems wise since success is very remote.

If we endure through the schooling process, we will emerge victorious. If we endure the planting and weeding season, we will celebrate the harvest. If we endure the profitless days of setting up the business we will celebrate the days of profit in the future. Endurance is a quality we all need in all aspects of life.

Endure means you have gone through the good and the bad and you have not changed. Endure means you have survived that which would have ended your existence. You have survived what would have ended your life. You have survived what would have ended your career. You have survived that which others couldn’t survive. You have made it through what very few have made it through. You have endured!

We all begin the endurance journey, but sooner or later, many others give up and very few endure to the end. What is the secret behind unbreakable endurance? What makes a person hang in there? What makes a person suffer and not give up?

Our text today gives us a hint. The day of the LORD is coming. A day when God will punish Israel for its evil choices. It is a dreadful day. The prophet has described the terror of that day and the listeners are now terrified of what is coming. At the end of verse eleven, he asks – who can endure it? Who can endure the punishment God will bring upon the land of Israel. The punishment will come, but who will endure?

What the prophet is telling the listeners is that you cant avoid the day of the LORD. You must just plan to endure it or perish. Therefore at the end of verse eleven, the listeners are keen to know the secret behind the ability to endure such terror. Verse twelve onwards is an answer to the question, who can endure it? This answer gives us the secret behind unbreakable endurance.

Verse twelve onwards tells us that a good relationship with God is the sure way to endure any disaster in life. The prophet urges the people to return to God. Genuine repentance and not outward show. Render your hearts and not your garments. When we genuinely return to God, there is nothing we cannot endure. The secret behind unbreakable endurance is a genuinely close relationship with God.

Job suffered immensely but he endured because he had a close relationship with God. Abraham endured childlessness because of his relationship with God. Stephen endured stoning to death because of his relationship with God. Peter slept comfortably on the night he was to be killed, because of his relationship with God. Apostle Paul declared he was ready to die and wait for resurrection, he could endure the terror of coming death by beheading because he had a close relationship with God. The secret behind unbreakable endurance is a genuinely close relationship with God.

When Jesus faced coming death, He went to the garden of Gethsemane and prayed. Jesus drew closer to God the Father. That is how Jesus endured the suffering. He prayed at the cross while bearing excruciating pain. The secret behind unbreakable endurance is a genuinely close relationship with God.

Dear God, draw me near to Yourself that I may endure sickness, lack of money and other resources, social challenges, academic issues, spiritual challenges, etc., in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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