Endurance Inspired by Hope
By Roberto Rodríguez Núñez
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes. 1:3)
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This verse reminded me that some
time ago I wrote some notes about Job. I found them and noticed I had written
some rather interesting information. God knew Job personally. He described him
as perfect and upright. He feared God, shunned evil, and he was very rich; God
blessed him abundantly. He gave him seven sons and three daughters. He was an
early riser to worship God and intercede for his children. He so feared the
Lord that he didn’t want his children to sin against God; and if they did, he
would pray and offer sacrifices to redeem them of their sin. However, it
happened that one-day God allowed Satan to touch Job. In the first strike,
Satan smote him extremely hard to the point that he lost his family and all his
possessions.
God then allowed Satan to attack
him a second time and touch his body, to the point where Job lost everything
except his life. He endured physical, emotional, and spiritual pain as he
pondered why this calamity came upon him. God allowed Satan to do this. Why?
This is an overwhelming question. However, one thing is clear; God was in
control, and He knew what He was doing. This succession of calamities that
befell him one after another left him in ruin and practically naked, but the
outcome was going to be one of rejoicing. Still, throughout this entire ordeal,
he worshiped God. We’re to “remain under” until a breakthrough comes to our
lives. God has a timetable in which he will act on our behalf. In time, He will
give us all that he has promised (Heb. 10:36). The amazing promise is that “God
who gives endurance and encouragement” (Rom. 15:5) will not depart from us nor
will He forsake us.
Job was also a man of integrity; he
held together amid adversity. Although his wife told him to fall apart and
curse God, he maintained his integrity and ignored her (2:10). When Job’s
friends came to see him, they didn’t recognize him. They were stunned and
couldn’t utter any words. They sat mute for seven days just looking and
pondering what to say to him.
In chapter three we read that Job
was at the breaking point of desperation. His pain was unbearable. He got to
the point where he just couldn’t take it anymore. Nevertheless, at the end of
all the discussions, God came through and restored everything to him. It is of
no surprise the apostle Paul tells us that we are to endure in suffering (Rom.
5:3), troubles (2 Cor. 1:6), persecution, and trials (2 Thess. 1:4). We must
endure “and bring forth fruit with patience” (Lk. 8:15). Endurance produces
patience, and patience produces hope. Hope doesn’t disappoint us. It will
purify us (1 Jn. 3:3), strengthen us (Ps. 31:4), and encourage us (Ps. 42:5) to
move forward in faith.
The apostle Paul said that our
“endurance is inspired by hope," so the second point we must consider is
to hold fast to hope and wait upon the Lord. But what is hope? It is trust. It
is a hope rooted in God’s power. A hope that gives us the strength to endure
and wait patiently for the things we currently do not see (Rom. 8:24-25); thus
hope propels us to go on. The sufferings we endure strengthen our hope to the
point where we can see our redemption is near. I echo the words of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. on hope, he said, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the
vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that
helps you go on despite it all. And so today I still have a dream…” I
will conclude with one last quote on hope. "Hope" is the thing
with feathers-- That perches in the soul-- And sings the tune without the
words-- And never stops--at all—(Emily Dickenson).