Fortitude - Part 1
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. - Hebrew 10:35-36
The bible tells of many characters who have to endure hardships and sufferings in the midst of trials and difficulties. Through the trials, these characters have learnt to endure and emerge victorious. But how did they do it? The secret lies in the strength of the mind called Fortitude.
What is fortitude? Fortitude is the "strength" of the mind that enables a person to encounter danger, to bear pain or adversity with courage. Without fortitude, you will not able to complete your journey. God does not want us to start off well. He also wants us to end well. 2 Cor. 6:4 tells us that we are the ministers of God as the ministers of God, we must have the ability to endure or else we will never be able to fulfill God's dream for us. God uses people who never give up. In life, we will meet with obstacles and delays. The bible does not promise us a bed of roses after we accepted Jesus Christ. Instead, the bible tells us to be ready to face trials and difficulties as well as to endure hardships like a good soldier of Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3). Not everything in life is about success and being rich or powerful. In fact, success is not about achieving our goals or being famous. It is about us not being stopped by obstacles and delays during our journey to achieve our goals. It is about not giving up. It is about enduring.
Mother Teresa was once asked how she and her helpers managed to pass each day and face sickness and death in their works by a senator. This senator visited the hospital where Mother Teresa has set up for the sick and dying children from the streets. He saw the poor and unbearable conditions these sick children were in. He couldn't understand how Mother Teresa could bear to see these children suffered and died in her arms without a moment of despair or depression. Mother Teresa simply told the senator that she was not called to be successful but she was called by God to be faithful. This is a real champion - A champion who does not quit or give up when the going gets tough. She endured everything to the very end till she was called home.
ENDURE, the very word that the bible mentions over and over again to Christians who are going through hardships. But what does E.N.D.U.R.E really mean?
The Letter ‘E' – Embrace God's purpose in your situation
In order to be able to endure any hardships, you must first understand the purpose and reason behind the situation. If you do not understand the ‘why' behind it, you will find it hard to hold on. Eventually, you will collapse. 1 Peter 2:7 tells us God's purpose behind all the problems we are facing is far greater than what we know or understand – the testing of our faith leading to our salvation. It is more important that we be saved till the end than being saved once. We want to experience Jesus not just at the moment when we accepted Christ. We want to experience Jesus all the days of our lives, all the moments we are walking and breathing. God is not interested in saving us once and then forget about us. He is interested in both our salvation and the depth of our character. To endure all hardships, we need depth in our character as we walk in our journey with God. To God, our faith is more precious than gold. We need to develop depth of character and our faith in order to cross the finishing line.
I do not know about you but I realised that my strength is developed during times of adversity and not during moments of peace. It is only during the trials, I experience the meaning of trusting God and putting my situation into His hands. But it is not enough. It also means knowing with my entire mind, my heart and soul that God will see me through to the end even if I seem to be all alone to face the situation. One thing I do know in the end is that God allows me to go through trials and as a result of it, my faith muscle becomes stronger as I exercise my faith. You see, our faith is just like the muscles in our body. If we do not constantly exercise, these muscles will become useless fats and eventually, we will find ourselves too weak to move our bodies. Faith is similar to our muscles. If we do not exercise our faith in God, we are slowly throwing it away. The bible says that Christians are tested until they become mature and complete in Christ during the process. God is committed to your character development, not to your comfort, likes or dislikes.
If you are facing any difficulties at the moment, focus on the knowledge that God has a higher purpose as you go through this trial period. Focus on the knowledge that your faith is being tested but God will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability to handle. Focus on the knowledge that you will walk out victorious with a new revelation and understanding the purpose of the trial. Focus your mind on Jesus and His promises.
Know that in the end, tribulation produces perseverance (the ability to endure), and perseverance, character (knowledge and wisdom), and character, hope (revelation). And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit – Romans 5:3-5.
We will see The Letter ‘N' – Nurture your spiritual roots in the part 2 at Sermon Alive
The bible tells of many characters who have to endure hardships and sufferings in the midst of trials and difficulties. Through the trials, these characters have learnt to endure and emerge victorious. But how did they do it? The secret lies in the strength of the mind called Fortitude.
What is fortitude? Fortitude is the "strength" of the mind that enables a person to encounter danger, to bear pain or adversity with courage. Without fortitude, you will not able to complete your journey. God does not want us to start off well. He also wants us to end well. 2 Cor. 6:4 tells us that we are the ministers of God as the ministers of God, we must have the ability to endure or else we will never be able to fulfill God's dream for us. God uses people who never give up. In life, we will meet with obstacles and delays. The bible does not promise us a bed of roses after we accepted Jesus Christ. Instead, the bible tells us to be ready to face trials and difficulties as well as to endure hardships like a good soldier of Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3). Not everything in life is about success and being rich or powerful. In fact, success is not about achieving our goals or being famous. It is about us not being stopped by obstacles and delays during our journey to achieve our goals. It is about not giving up. It is about enduring.
Mother Teresa was once asked how she and her helpers managed to pass each day and face sickness and death in their works by a senator. This senator visited the hospital where Mother Teresa has set up for the sick and dying children from the streets. He saw the poor and unbearable conditions these sick children were in. He couldn't understand how Mother Teresa could bear to see these children suffered and died in her arms without a moment of despair or depression. Mother Teresa simply told the senator that she was not called to be successful but she was called by God to be faithful. This is a real champion - A champion who does not quit or give up when the going gets tough. She endured everything to the very end till she was called home.
ENDURE, the very word that the bible mentions over and over again to Christians who are going through hardships. But what does E.N.D.U.R.E really mean?
The Letter ‘E' – Embrace God's purpose in your situation
In order to be able to endure any hardships, you must first understand the purpose and reason behind the situation. If you do not understand the ‘why' behind it, you will find it hard to hold on. Eventually, you will collapse. 1 Peter 2:7 tells us God's purpose behind all the problems we are facing is far greater than what we know or understand – the testing of our faith leading to our salvation. It is more important that we be saved till the end than being saved once. We want to experience Jesus not just at the moment when we accepted Christ. We want to experience Jesus all the days of our lives, all the moments we are walking and breathing. God is not interested in saving us once and then forget about us. He is interested in both our salvation and the depth of our character. To endure all hardships, we need depth in our character as we walk in our journey with God. To God, our faith is more precious than gold. We need to develop depth of character and our faith in order to cross the finishing line.
I do not know about you but I realised that my strength is developed during times of adversity and not during moments of peace. It is only during the trials, I experience the meaning of trusting God and putting my situation into His hands. But it is not enough. It also means knowing with my entire mind, my heart and soul that God will see me through to the end even if I seem to be all alone to face the situation. One thing I do know in the end is that God allows me to go through trials and as a result of it, my faith muscle becomes stronger as I exercise my faith. You see, our faith is just like the muscles in our body. If we do not constantly exercise, these muscles will become useless fats and eventually, we will find ourselves too weak to move our bodies. Faith is similar to our muscles. If we do not exercise our faith in God, we are slowly throwing it away. The bible says that Christians are tested until they become mature and complete in Christ during the process. God is committed to your character development, not to your comfort, likes or dislikes.
If you are facing any difficulties at the moment, focus on the knowledge that God has a higher purpose as you go through this trial period. Focus on the knowledge that your faith is being tested but God will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability to handle. Focus on the knowledge that you will walk out victorious with a new revelation and understanding the purpose of the trial. Focus your mind on Jesus and His promises.
Know that in the end, tribulation produces perseverance (the ability to endure), and perseverance, character (knowledge and wisdom), and character, hope (revelation). And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit – Romans 5:3-5.
We will see The Letter ‘N' – Nurture your spiritual roots in the part 2 at Sermon Alive
Source...