Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.     Matthew 24:11-13 HCSB

When we exercise, we want to build strength, but we also want to build endurance. We want to be able to tolerate longer workouts. Endurance is about being able to tolerate pain and exhaustion to push through. We build endurance by pressing harder and being committed to daily workouts.

As Christians, we must also endure. We build endurance by remaining strong in our faith. We are told in Philippians 4:13 we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We must learn not to trust on our own strength, but on the strength God provides to us so we can endure the things He calls us to endure. If God calls us to go through difficult times or perform difficult tasks, He doesn’t expect us to do this on our own strength. He wants us to rely on Him and His strength and His power.

We live in a world where lawlessness is certainly multiplying. It is literally being forced down our throats. There are false prophets and preachers all around us. We see hard hearts all around us. People are mean and grumpy and generally not good to be around. They will persecute you for your faith. They will be angered over the smallest of things. This is because they are not overcomers. They are not going to be able to endure.

Jesus tells His disciples that the one who endures to the end will be delivered. In Revelation, when Jesus tells John what to write to the churches, He makes it clear that only the overcomers will enter the kingdom of heaven.

My friend, you are not going to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven if you are not able to endure. You will never be able to endure on your own strength. We must surrender to Christ and do our best to imitate Him. We must give our lives over to Him. When we do this, we live under His protection. We can rely on His strength and His power.

This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. It’s not about how fast you can go or how strong you are, it’s about how faithfully you can endure. It’s about how you can hold fast in His strength.

We build faith like we build strength, by regularly exercising. We must continually exercise our faith. We must pray for God to help strengthen our faith in times when we feel as though we are failing.

Just as an athlete spends countless hours in the gym or on the track, we must spend our time in church. We must continually pray. We must devote ourselves to Bible study. This is how we build endurance.

If you are not doing these things, you may not be strong enough to endure. But, do not fear, you can start right now, today. You can begin to exercise and strengthen your faith. You can surrender to Christ and let go of your ways and do it His way.

If you are a true believer, you will be able to endure to the end. It’s all about the endurance. Will you be able to endure and overcome?

Have a great day!