We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. James 5:11

Yesterday was a beautiful day so I went for a run.  While I managed to endure to the end, it wasn’t easy for several reasons. In addition to my normal health concerns, a couple of weeks ago, I had a respiratory infection that has left me with a nagging cough.   I have asthma and forgot to use my inhaler before the run.  I also have a knee that isn’t always the most cooperative as well as a wart being treated on one foot that can be uncomfortable.  I could go on, but you get the idea…there were obstacles that had to be endured to finish running the course.  Today it turned cold and rainy causing my body to ache significantly.  Further, it was one of those days when fatigue and lethargy set in.  Today’s form of endurance had a different nature, but was endurance nonetheless.  In fact, every day seems to require a fair amount of patient endurance.  I must accept undesired changes in my lifestyle and abilities as my body often seems to be my worst enemy.  It can be rather trying at times.  However, each day I do my best to: stand, run the race, endure with grace, and to live well.  Some days that goes fairly well while others see limited, if any, success.  I struggle daily to endure because of God’s involvement in my life.  From my perspective, here are three of the many encouragements to endure.

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How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.  The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.  The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.  Psalm 41:1-3

Last week I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Cleveland Clinic while I was seeing doctors and having tests done. (You can read more about that in last week’s post here.) While I have stayed in many hotels with varying levels of service, I’ve not been in one like this before and I really didn’t notice how different it was for at least a day.  As I was sitting at dinner in the café on the second evening, I noticed that the din which typically surrounds the restaurant and bar areas was missing.  In fact, it was rather quiet.  I also noticed that there were more families taking the time to thank God for their food.  It then occurred to me that the vast majority, if not all, of the patrons were either ill, caregivers or some combination of the two.  As I sat there taking this in, I further realized that the staff was different as well as they were more engaged that I’m used to.  With this realization came an awareness, an opportunity and a blessing.

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“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.   When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.   But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.”  Acts 28:3-6

My wife and I were recently on vacation and decided to stop for dessert after while walking back to our hotel from a craft fair.  The dinner rush had passed, but there were still a few stragglers entering the restaurant for a meal.   After being seated, we waited an unusually long time without being acknowledged by a server…long enough that the couple in the next booth who had been seated after us had already received their drinks.  Slightly irritated at the lack of service, I suggested that if we weren’t acknowledged in the next five minutes, we should just go back to the hotel.  Our waitress finally showed up just before we were ready to leave and seemed less than enthusiastic about serving us.  However, she apologized and explained that a tourist had come out of the ladies’ room and hit our server’s nose with her elbow causing intense pain.  What we had assumed to be poor service was in actuality something entirely different.  Having heard the explanation, our demeanor quickly changed from frustration to concern.  That’s the problem with assumptions, just because we have a little information, doesn’t mean that we know the truth of the matter.

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We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.  1 John 4:16-17

We all like to be reminded that we are loved…especially by those who are dear to us.  My wife was out of town this weekend and I wasn’t feeling the greatest on several levels.  At one point, I considered staying home from church on Sunday morning.  However, realizing that it was not a wise choice in that moment and that there are others who would love to attend a worship service, but are unable, I rose to the occasion and went.  During the praise time, the worship team led us in “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”.  For various reasons, I desperately needed to hear those words.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Colossians 3:12

Some of the definitions or synonyms of kindness are:  benevolence, humanity, generosity, charity, sympathy, compassion, and tenderness.  As indicated above, scripture calls us to be kind and engage in charitable acts.  However, there are times when our best intentions may not be charitable at all.  For example, the Sunday after I was released from my last major hospitalization, very well intentioned people, who truly cared about my well-being, greeted me with a hug…many of which were quite firm.  The problem was that I had just had a PICC line inserted and every hug involving my left arm was painful…so much so that I had to start doing body checks to protect myself.  Another example was while I was caring for my father.  In the last months of his life, visits from people became difficult for him and anything more than about five minutes would cause stress to the extent that he would beg me to send them away.  Some people graciously accepted the request, but others insisted on staying which created an awkward situation leaving me no choice but to demand that they leave.  My point is that there is a darker side to charitable acts that can, in fact, harm rather than help or encourage.  As in all things concerning godliness, we must be intentional about in our compassion to avoid having a negative impact. 

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“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ”  Ephesians 2:4-5

“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.  For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”  Psalm 103:14-15

In the last two posts I discussed my mother’s ability to forgive her father and the relationships with him that it permitted.  I also discussed her stewardship, hospitality and integrity and how they encouraged me and benefited others.  These are a very few of the high points or strengths in her life.  However, as Christ warns us in John 16:33, my mother also bore a fair amount of pain and suffering.  Over the years, I watched as my mother endured physical illness, emotional pain and spiritual trials that God included as part of her life.  One of the complaints that I often hear from people who are suffering is that they are very alone or have little to no help.  Thankfully, I believe that this is the exception in my church home, but within the larger body of Christ, this seems to be a prevalent problem and it was certainly true for my mother.  In my mother’s case, she was seen as an outsider as she was not reared within the denomination and she came from an unchurched family.   Further, she did not feel called as the pastor’s wife to run the social programs of the church and she suffered from depression.  Therefore, for the most part she was condemned for a lack of faith and godliness and, but for a few exceptions and like many, found no real support within the church body.

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“For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.  For He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.  Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?  Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?”  Lamentations 3:32-33, 37-39

As I lay on the doctor’s exam table over 25 years ago, I was hard pressed to reconcile what I had been taught about the love of God with the extreme pain that I was experiencing with no definitive cause.  The physical pain was intense, but the spiritual pain greatly exceeded it.

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”    2 Corinthians 1:3-5

We have all experienced times when we needed to be comforted.  Sometimes it’s physical, emotional or spiritual pain, but more often than not, it is a mixture.

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