SPIRITUAL TENACITY

If your hopes are being disappointed just now, let me remind and encourage you my sweet friends to view your situation from God’s standpoint and not your own. Begin to see your disappointments as they are….being purified. One of the greatest strains that I have ever had to endure in my life is, "waiting for God". Isaiah 57:10 says, You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, it is hopeless. You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint. Sometimes we are strained because of wrong choices, sometimes because of wrong choices made against us. Whatever the source and direction it came from the strain is genuine and can appear to be hopeless and unchangeable. But the one thing that we must acquire to endure the strain is, Spiritual Tenacity. Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to come about. It is more than hanging on, it is to believe and work deliberately on the certainty that God is going to work it out and or bring a thing about. I have learned about spiritual tenacity from my own spiritual walk as well as watching others who posses its influence and strength. In watching the winter Olympics I am always impressed by the endurance that the pole vaulter's have when they are trying to jump higher than the last competitor. Apart from all their endurance that they acquire from the training and tenacious coaches, there would be no way to jump higher. They would remain at the limbo stage. Never raising the bar any higher than their last jump. That is what God does in the life of His children….He pushes us to the next stage of experience and lesson to make us better and our endurance stronger. He is simply purifying your disappointment until it becomes your friend. He is allowing your troubles to come in order for you to learn how to vault over them. He will not shield you from the requirements of the training…but will be there with you and will uphold you as He walks with you in every step that you must take. Rise to the occasion, do that thing that you must do…what matters the most is not how it hurts, but is God being manifested in your soul through it. The New American Standard Bible’s version of Is.57:10 says…you were tired out by the length of your road, yet you did not say, it is hopeless, you found renewed strength, therefore you did not faint….I like this version because it exemplifies the length of the strain …we can so tire of being weary ….so remember our hope is in our renewed (revived, reestablish, recover, restore, begin again) strength….that way we will not faint even though we feel like we are being sleighed for a time… May God keep up the good work of sanctifying us unto Himself….and may He knock out the whine in us as He is bringing it about. When we realize this important truth, we will become the broken bread that can be used to feed and nourish others around us….Bless God….that is some good stuff right there! Let us say...though He slay us.....yet will we serve Him! I am loving on you and you can endure this thing… Bren