Endurance & Encouragement

The hope you have in Jesus will give you the endurance and encouragement to make it through the highs and lows of every season.

“Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years...Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord...Joash decided to restore the temple of the LORD. He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once. A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the LORD the tax...all the people brought their contributions gladly...The men in charge of the work were diligent. They rebuilt the temple of God...Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the LORD...and worshiped Asherah poles and idols...Zechariah son of Jehoiada...said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’s commands?...they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him... At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash...they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed." 2 Chronicles‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-25

The life of Joash could be divided into two main seasons. In the first season, he was faithfully focused on bringing people to God by repairing the temple. His life had purpose and was built around doing what would honor God. The boy who had been saved by hiding in the temple became the man whose leadership helped raise funds and finish the work of rebuilding the temple. This time was marked by diligent efforts. It is good to know what you need to do and have direction. If only that were the end of the story, Joash’s legacy would be that of a highly acclaimed man faithful to God.

Unfortunately, after the death of Jehoiada, Joash entered a season of sin. The text says that he listened to officials who paid homage to him. The phrase paid homage in Hebrew is akin to worship or bowing down. Joash must have enjoyed people worshiping him because he went from a man whose purpose was centered on making a place to worship God to a man who started worshiping idols like many others. Zechariah should have been important to Joash. He was the son of the man who saved Joash by hiding him and helping him take refuge. Instead, Joash had him killed because he did not like being called out. Life has a funny way of coming full circle, and the very officials whom Joash listened to, causing him to conspire against God, ended up conspiring against him.

How does this ancient passage relate to us today? Well, we all go through seasons of life. What season are you in? How is it impacting your faith? Can you see the beauty in this season? How does this time in your life fit within the bigger picture? God’s word constantly reminds us to step back and see beyond ourselves so we can see that we are part of His redemptive plan for humanity. His plan is full of hope and helps us appreciate the time we have. He wants that hope to help us have the endurance to run the race and not grow weary.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare...He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭16

Why do you think God constantly invites us to find our refuge in Him? It is almost like God knows we are going to have hard times and hard seasons. In those moments, we will turn in a direction. Not all directions lead to peace. God wants us to turn to Him. He says that He is the refuge. Peace is not a place, but a person. Jesus. Jesus said come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest. He is our refuge when we encounter storms or stormy seasons. He wants you to feel safe and feel seen. He wants you to know that He is present and has a purpose for your life. The key point is spending time with Him and inviting Him to lead you each day. The psalmist spoke of those who dwell with Him. Jesus said abide with Me. How much time will you spend with Him in prayer, singing His praises, and pursuing His purposes today?

A surprising thing can happen to even the holiest truths. They can be twisted. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, it was Psalm 91 that the devil quoted when he was trying to get Jesus to jump off the top of the temple. If Satan will twist Scripture when talking to Jesus, what do you think he is going to try to do with you? We saw in Joash’s life how the twisting of truth turned him from worshiping God to worshiping himself.

We may think that we would never do what Joash did, but it is very easy to allow truth to get twisted and for our thinking to get off track. Rather than looking at this season of life as a time when God is growing you or working through you, you can make everything about what is happening to you. You can get frustrated by difficult circumstances, a bad diagnosis, or people who have done you wrong. Two people can look at rain and see it entirely differently. One may be upset they are getting wet; the other may be overjoyed that their flowers are watered. How you look at your life will entirely shape your experience. Jesus invites us to keep our eyes on Him. Where is your focus today? Is it producing gratitude or grumbling?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. He has made everything beautiful in its time...no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end...there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live...eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever" Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭22

Time has a different meaning to us than it does to God. God made time. Why does this matter to us? Because He operates outside of it and is not bound by its constructs. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. His perspective is better than ours. It is good to seek Him to understand how we fit into His plan. We live linear lives that have a beginning and an end. Our lives may have a different number of trips around the sun, but each of us only gets one time to experience life under the heavens. So the truth is that none of us knows what is ahead during our time on earth, but God does.

Time has a different meaning depending on what season of life we are in. To the young, life seems endless. To the old, the end may seem close as the knock on death’s door grows louder. Much like truth, how you experience time will depend on how you look at it. If you look at time as an endless resource, you are not likely to appreciate how precious your seconds on this planet are. But if you consider the brevity of your time here and that this time is a gift, the fear of the Lord can begin to give you the knowledge to live in a way that is holy and wholly unto Him.

How are you looking at this day? Is it the day the Lord has made? Are you finding joy in it? Are you hopeful and expectant? Or are you in a rut and, like Joash, struggling with a lack of purpose after building the temple? Can you see the beauty in the day, and are you finding the satisfaction that your soul craves in your toil?

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare....This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches." Ezekiel‬ ‭17‬:‭19‬-‭24

What if we changed the way we looked at our lives? What if each day we asked God what would most honor Him in how we lived? What if the most important filter for our lives was being faithful to the God who is always faithful to us? God does not condemn us when we do something dumb, but He holds people accountable when they give their hearts to worship anything other than Him. He wants us to see that the seasons of life should strengthen our faith in Him because He is our hope and future.

God knew our propensity to sin and have rebellious hearts, so He planted a righteous seed in Jesus that would be our refuge. Jesus is the One who produces fruit and welcomes people from all nations and tribes to find shelter in His branches. The words of Ezekiel prophetically describe our personal Savior. It is Jesus who came to us to produce branches and bear fruit. He is the One who is our shelter and who, with a word, calmed the storm. Ezekiel is calling the audience to hear the same truth found in Psalm 91: the best way to find beauty in each season is to draw close to the Vine that gives us exactly what we need each day.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God." Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2

Why is hope so incredibly important? Think about what happens when life grows hard or we feel like we have no hope. Think about what happens when we are afraid or feel alone. Aren’t those the times when we stop moving forward? Aren’t those the times when we sin or try to find other solutions to ease the pain? When we lose hope, we get stuck. Jesus knows this about us, and in His grace, He meets us where we are. But He never leaves us there. He calls us forward because hope moves us.

Paul highlighted two critical attributes of a person whose heart is devoted to Christ: endurance and encouragement. Endurance and encouragement grow as we spend time with Jesus. What do these mean to you? What are you currently enduring? Where do you need encouragement? Great, now look around and see who needs help enduring a tough season and who could use encouragement from you. Unlike Joash, Paul started poorly but finished well. He took on the mind of Christ and was strengthened as he served God. The truth is, so are we.

Joash lost his way when he began listening to the wrong voices that turned him away from dwelling with God. Proverbs says guard your heart. How will you guard your heart from turning? How will you make room to listen to His word and let His love shape how you live? The more we know Jesus, the more we learn that trusting Him will lead us to a life that produces fruit. He becomes the refuge we run to when we need it, then the living water that builds a legacy of love.

Abiding in Jesus changes how we experience the time we have under the heavens. Will we learn to see life like He does? He was present with the people in His life. He did not have a cell phone, but if He did, you know He would have put it away when He was talking to another person. Will we? He was known for dining with sinners and washing dirty feet. He said He came to serve not to be served. He mentored the apostles, yet took time to pray with the Father. So He understood the balance of life: there is a time to be with others and a time to be alone. With Him, there is room to enjoy a good meal, and there is room to grieve what we do not understand. He is God with us in all of life’s seasons.

What do we see in all the passages today? Life is better when we are connected to God. When Joash was in the temple, he did what was right. When the psalmist was in the wilderness, he sought to spend his time with his Savior and Shelter. Make the time to draw close to Jesus. Let Him remind you that you are loved, that your life matters, and that your future is held in His hands. Ask Him to help you see the gifts in this day, even if you are grieving. Every season has beauty and opportunities to see His faithfulness. He will work all things for good for those who love Him. You can face what is ahead with hope found in knowing that Jesus will be there with you.

Like Paul said, let His joy and peace fill you until hope overflows, because at the end of the day, the measure of your life will be the impact you have on others. Like Jesus did with you, meet people where they are and let His hope flow through you today by the power of the Holy Spirit. You are strengthened so you can strengthen. You are encouraged so you can encourage. Like Paul, let hope keep you moving so you, too, can learn that satisfaction is found in serving God.