ENDURANCE

"Endure hardship...like a good soldier of
Jesus Christ."  2 Timothy 2:3

      One morning, during devotions, the Lord said, "I want you to research the word endurance."  With a long moan I declared, "Oh Lord, I hate that distasteful word.  Why do you want me to look into the meaning of it?"

      To a person like myself who has little patience, the word "endurance" is absolutely foreboding.  I have toyed with the idea of striking this word from my vocabulary along with it's cousins, "patience" and "perseverance."   However, in a few moments I came to the conclusion that God must have a good reason for me to do this.  After all, I did sign on to follow Jesus at any cost, I reminded myself as I reached for the dictionary.

            endurance:  l. the fact or power of bearing pain, hardship, or adversity.
                                 2. the ability to continue or last; stamina
                                 3. lasting quality; duration.

      "Ah-hah! I am catching on Lord.  I see the purpose of my research.  Since I lack all of the above attributes, You have decided the time has come for me to learn how to endure."  The next thing I did was explore the Bible, searching the New Testament for every reference to endurance.

      After reading all the Scriptures where the Apostle Paul refers to endure, endured, and endurance, I realize just how much my lack of the above qualities affect all areas of my life.  So what am I to do about it?

      Would you believe that day's mail brought a delightful surprise.  From Open Doors Ministry I received a book titled Bold as a Lamb, by Ken Anderson.  It's the biography of Samuel Lamb, pastor of the Chinese house church in Guangzhou, China who know the meaning or endurance.  "Oh God", I exclaimed, "Your timing is perfect!"  I had met this pastor in the summer of 1998 on one of my trips to China as a Bible courier.  Vividly I recall the visit as a time of great blessing.

      Our team gathered around Pastor Lamb, listening attentively to his recount of the painful years in prison for preaching the Gospel.  It amazed me to see this man still able to smile after so many harsh years of confinement in forced labour camps.  Then he was transferred to work in a coal mine for his remaining years of incarceration.  Even in prison Samuel never stopped spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Though he had no Bible, the Scriptures he had memorized were hidden in his heart.

      Samuel told us his wife died just months before he was released from a twenty year prison term. What a terrible shock to finally return home and find his beloved wife was not there to greet him.

      As we sat there sipping chilled fruit juice we had been graciously served, my eyes drank in the sparse furnishings of this underground church where thousands of people had come to hear the Gospel preached by Pastor Lamb.  Tears filled my eyes as I humbly observed this gentle, patient man of God.  I was keenly aware of my flawed view of what it means to be a dedicated Christian, my "Western" idea of a servant of Jesus Christ.

      That evening and part of the next morning I devoured every page of that book amid tears and moments of encouragement.

      Here was no shallow Christian.  Samuel Lamb proclaimed his faith in our Lord Jesus every day of his life.  Indeed, even now he faces the threat of arrest and further imprisonment because he will not quit preaching the Good News to all who want to hear.  Dedication? Yes! Above all, ENDURANCE!

      Since I have the habit of grumbling and murmuring when things don't go the way I would like, I prayed, "Oh Lord I repent of my murmuring.  Help me keep the example of patient endurance displayed by Samuel Lamb fresh in my mind.  How on earth will I ever get through the trials which are bound to come if I do not learn?  Teach me, Lord, how to endure."