“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  (Isaiah 40:31)

It’s more than a statement about the future, although it’s at least the future—as our Lord promises, those who die with Him shall rise with Him into the bodily joy and freedom of His victory over death.  Yet even now, as Isaiah declares, faith (the resurrection pressing into “now”!) brings with it a virtue that we sometimes call endurance.

You see it in very human ways all the time: where a hope or dream motivates people, it can often inspire them to endure great physical distress until they reach their goal.  Perhaps you could simply call it grit: suffering produces grit in those who live by a hope greater than their own comfort.

This dynamic that we see in an everyday way comes to its finest expression in the Lord’s way.  He’s given us a great hope, the promise of a new life and new creation in Him, disclosing His friendship with us now and forever—indeed, Christians should never forget the startling promise that His Church will rule with Christ in the world to come.  Such promises are the Church’s grit, its youth and strength, its reason to endure and press forward in confidence.

LET US PRAY: Grant me strength, Lord, to endure patiently all that I may bear in this life, setting my eyes not on things that perish but on Your Word, which never fades.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“When I wept in my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.” (Psalm 69:10-11

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord – not that He won’t hear you – but that you might be able to hear Him. Come into the small still places and be rid of the noise of this world. Come and know that God is Sovereign and that all things are in His hands. Lament your sin and rejoice in the gift of your salvation. Come with honesty and tears before the Lord your God.

Lord, You know all that I have done. You have heard all that I have spoken. You know me; and though You have invited me to walk with You, I do not know You as I should. Bring me to the place where I am willing and able to do what needs to be done. Guide me in Your goodness and let me hear as You speak that I would hold fast to the truth You have revealed through Your Word.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who has come to lead the way of salvation. You make the way possible through the grace You purchased with Your blood. You are the truth revealed that we might walk in the light and no longer linger in the darkness of this world. Lead me through all the pain and suffering of this world to know that You are the One who has come that we might have life. Amen.