Endurance When Life is Hard

We’ve been praying this month about endurance. We want our kids to be people who follow Jesus throughout their whole lives. We pray for them to become men and women who press in and remain anchored to Jesus even in the most dismal of storms. We want that for ourselves, too. 

Sometimes I feel like I don’t have any endurance at all. I feel lethargic and scared and stuck. Some mornings, I wake up with heaviness before even stepping out of bed. I think about all I have to do: bible study, exercise, write, homeschool, work, ministry, meal planning, cleaning, and instead of being filled with gratitude for all of these opportunities, I am filled with dread. 

As I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this, I realize the layer that is deepest is shame.

It’s one of Satan’s biggest tactics. He uses shame to crush our endurance. We were all created with a special purpose. God, our creator, made us in the image of Him. He made us to create, to design, to make beautiful things. Some of us create babies, or safe homes for foster/adopted children, or businesses, or blogs, or books, or classrooms, or meals for our families. As we speak, my son is making gadgets out of legos and my daughter is making a kite out of paper and sticks.

God loves it when we create, and when we share Him with others in our own unique ways, and when we live out our purpose. Shame thwarts that. It paralyzes us so that we no longer have the endurance we need to keep living out our purposes. It makes us wonder if we heard God wrong. He couldn’t possibly be calling me to this. I’m not __________ enough.

Strong enough. Smart enough. Energetic enough. Popular enough. Healthy enough. Skinny enough. Rested enough. Put together enough. What is your “enough”?

I was thinking about this book that Steph and I are writing and this ministry that we know God called us to run. Of course, the enemy really wants to stop it. Right now, I am struggling to write this because I broke my finger earlier this week and it’s annoying to type with one less finger. I can’t complain though because when we were deep in the throes of writing our book, Steph broke her right wrist! She had to attend a writer’s conference in a cast. She had to keep working on the book while using voice typing and care for her family while using only her non-dominant hand. Shame tells me that I’m not capable enough. God tells me that he carries me.

A few other hurdles have come along for Steph and I as we’ve been writing together including having a baby and enduring some postpartum anxiety/depression (me). Shame tells me that I’m not mentally healthy enough. God heals me and gives me resources.

The loss of a best friend (Steph).

Trips to the ER with kids.

Two major surgeries.

Work transitions and grad school for our husbands.

An insane lack of sleep.

Oh and a global pandemic!

Shame tells us that we are too busy, too grief stricken, too isolated, too overwhelmed. God tells us that he goes before us.

It’s been harder than I ever imagined, but a lot better too! I have found that most of the things that God has called me to have been like that.

All this to say, life can be hard and heavy. Sometimes, it feels like life is getting in the way of the endurance we need to keep creating what God has called us to create. Maybe God is calling you to step out in faith. Maybe there’s something He’s asked you to create. Maybe it’s a small group He’s asked you to lead. Maybe He’s put you in charge or crafting a peaceful home for your family. Maybe it’s a fast He wants you to say yes to or a new prayer habit He’s urging you to start. Satan will do everything He can to make you tired and discouraged and ashamed.

Keep pressing on. 

One day at a time. 

Don’t look too far ahead. 

Ask Him to remind you who you are.

Ask Him to give you the endurance you need to just do…

the next right thing. 

It might be hard. It might be uncomfortable. But if you are following Him, it will be worth it!