Endurance

Scripture: For You have tried us, O God. You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins. You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance," Psalm 66:10 - 12

Observation: This is a pretty amazing Psalm. It starts off by saying Shout joyfully to God and it maintains that tone throughout the Psalms. Every verse is a praise to God except the passage above. In this passage, he talks about God trying the nation. He speaks of refining as with fire. Being captured as prey is taken by a hunter. Being oppressed as a heavy burden placed in my lap. Being over taken by men. Walking through fire. Walking through water. And in all these things, the Psalmist says, "You have made…"

Application: I can still remember everything about the first day of summer football practice. All the sights, sounds, smells, and experiences are forever locked into my mind. It started the last week of July. In the scorching heat we would line up in shorts and t-shirts. We ran. We ran until someone vomited. We ran until we ran hard enough to earn our right to get a drink of water. It was grueling. Just when I thought that I could take no more, something amazing happened. We went "full pads". This meant that we all strapped on around 20 pounds of gear and added full-contact to the running in the heat. Now I not only had to worry about surviving the heat and the running; I had to look out for someone trying to run me over. As a team, we endured all this from our coaches. They brought it all upon us in hopes of preparing us for game day. In the end, it was worth it. It was necessary. Without it, there was no way to get ready.

It is hard to accept hardship in life. I do not like it. I hate tension and the lack of peace. Just last week I was on a spiritual, personal, and work high. Everything was just as it should be. It was as if the stars were in perfect alignment and all was well in my world. My heart was connected with my kids. Brandy and I were in a really good place. I was loving my assignments at work. God was working in an amazing fashion by bringing people into my life in unexpected ways and allowing me to minister to them. For a couple of weeks, it was truly a mountain top experience.

Then things shift. The kids go crazy and refuse to follow even the simplest of instructions. Out of nowhere, tension and snapping appear in my relationship with Brandy. Work becomes heavy. My spiritual life dries up. Quite time is a struggle and I struggle with the words to minister to anyone. All of this transitions in a 3 day time span.

It is hard to maintain composure. It is difficult to accept the fact that God allows this. I get frustrated. I get down on myself. I get angry. Not angry at someone or something specific. Just a general angry that sits and waits on anyone or anything to jump on. I don’t like being this way. As I think back over my experiences playing football, I realize just how much I endured; knowing that it was preparing me for what was to come.

If I would go through all I had to endure for the joy of playing football, why is it that I resent so much going through life struggles that produce an eternal joy and benefit to me?

Prayer: Many times I wonder just how hard You laugh as You watch how I react to Your discipline. I hate it. I really do. I do not like pain. But as I say that, I realize two things that hating discipline is; sin and foolishness. Instead of reacting in frustration and anger or self-depreciation, teach me to praise You during hard times. Allow me the wisdom to see the better day that hard times prepare me for. I need Your strength to get me through and to be constantly reminded that Your loving kindness never fails.