Grow Your Endurance

Have you ever felt like “God where are you? God why is “this” happening to me?!” Perhaps you may have experienced a string of unfortunate events or maybe you are frustrated because your prayers and desires of your heart remain unanswered. 

While sometimes we can block our own blessings with disobedience, unforgiveness, negative thinking & destructive words, today I want to focus on the person who feels as if they’re doing everything right but nothing seems to be going right. Perhaps you feel cursed, hopeless or unseen by God.

If you’re feeling this way, I encourage you to meditate on James 1:2-4, which says: “Dear brothers and sisters, 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.”

Wait so you should be feeling joyful when you experience tests, trials and trouble? Uhhh, YES! Let me explain.

Joy is a state of being that is not dictated by circumstance. I love Rick Warren’s definition of joy: “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”

You can’t have joy if you don’t truly believe that God is in control and is working things out on your behalf. In order to have joy during a storm, your faith must be rooted in God NOT your circumstance. 

Once you believe that, you must see your test & trials differently. It is an opportunity for you to grow your endurance.  Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity.  It is in this season that God is using endurance to develop your character, faith and patience.

Every new level of blessings comes with a new level of burdens. And before you are promoted to your next season, it is equally important for you to be able to manage the blessings and burdens attached to it. Ask yourself: Do I have the endurance to withstand the new burdens that come with the blessings that I’ve been praying and waiting for?

You’ve been praying for a spouse and marriage—but do you have enough endurance to withstand the tests & trials that come with marriage?

You’ve been praying for that promotion and career advancement—but do you have the capacity to endure the stress and pressure that comes with the responsibilities?

You’ve been praying for a financial increase—but do you have the habits and mindset to successful manage more money and the problems that it can sometimes bring? 

You been praying to be a full-time successful entrepreneur—but do you have the character, faith & discipline to withstand the hurdles of owning a business?

You’ve been praying for more influence and exposure—but do you have endurance to withstand the spiritual warfare and criticism that comes with being an influencer or public figure?

Keep it real with yourself: Do you have endurance? Endurance isn’t just about letting the time pass by. Endurance focuses on how you wait aka your attitude and heart posture while you endure. A lot of people don’t have endurance because as soon as they get tired or frustrated from waiting “too long”, they immediately take matters into their own hands, disobey God, or quit.

Let me let you in on something: whatever God is building in your life, He’s doing it so it can be built to LAST. God wants you and “it” to be built to last! He wants your foundation to be strong and rooted in Him. He wants your character in alignment. He wants to develop you in the “dark” or behind the scenes. Trust the process, Goddess.

As you are growing your endurance, do not compare your process & timing to another person. Comparison is the thief of joy and a distraction from the enemy. He will convince you to quit, disobey God, lose faith or “take control” by pointing out that “So and so got their prayers answered while they were disobedient or by doing XYZ”. Let me tell you now: You are not “So and so”, so stop trying to imitate them; it probably won't work. Also you don’t know behind closed doors what “so and so” went through and if God’s hand is actually over their life. The enemy will have you coveting things/people that are not ordained by God.

Keep your focus on YOUR garden and growing your endurance until harvest season! It will be worth it.

XoXo,

Miss T.N. King

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