Let us run with endurance

 

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in [fellowship of] his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”  Philippians 3:10.

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. / It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. / It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

2 Timothy 2:11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

Here, Paul is in prison and rejoicing.  He is suffering while chained in His body, and somehow becoming more fully alive.  According to most scholars, this was in Rome, in Caesarea under an “open arrest” for more than two years. He was encouraging the church he had previously established to be steadfast in faith and persevere through trials.¹

Here, Paul notes that his imprisonment and suffering actually served to advance the gospel.   Because of his suffering, it testified to the whole palace guard of his passion for Christ and encouraged his brothers and sisters to be even more confident in proclaiming the gospel without fear.

It makes me think of this song: Ain't No Grave (Bethel Music)

In dying with him, commentary notes that it is the concept of shared suffering used in contexts of covenantal loyalty and communal identity. It is the act of dying together with someone else, experiencing suffering or martyrdom and resulting in greater unity and solidarity.² 

As a result, as Timothy notes, we will also live with him.  Interesting that this Greek word suzaó of living is tied with death.   It means to live in unity and fellowship, sharing a close intimate relationship with each other where life experiences, challenges and joys are shared.³ There is a depth to it. It is a form of communion.

This place of suffering is different from the response of Peter in Matthew 26:35 to defend Jesus when he says, ““Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!”  Peter’s self or ego had risen up here.  But in actuality, there was no power.  When it came time, Peter denied Jesus three times as Jesus predicted he would.   Peter was not at this place, in the flesh, of “the fellowship of suffering” that Paul was at in prison.

After Peter repented and Jesus was risen from the dead, this was the time, as the Holy Spirit empowered Peter, that he could genuinely enter the sufferings of Christ out of his deep love for Jesus and desire for intimacy.   

Jesus tells Peter in John 21:18-19, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’”

Some many years ago now, I remember having some spiritual warfare in my life due to my participation in a women’s conference.  It was right before or after a women’s conference that I helped with.  In a day or two my tire went flat, my computer died and I lost everything on my drive, and I spilled soup in my purse and ruined everything.   It was annoyance after annoyance.

At the time, I was thrilled.  I was in awe.  I never had an experience before of spiritual warfare as I had never participated in something where God was moving powerfully.  It felt so good that I was being noticed at all in the spiritual realm.  I just reveled and gloried in it.  As I had lived in a place of torment from the enemy for so many years, it felt so good to be noticed for having some impact in pushing back this kingdom of darkness.  My heart rejoiced with unspeakable joy and I decided that day that I wanted to have more impact for the Kingdom of God.

That joy-filled attitude about suffering for the Kingdom has overtaken me for many years.  God would often give me the numbers 333 as I would experience all this spiritual warfare and 555 as it was ending.  It felt like this dance in the enemy’s camp that brought me great joy as I saw God’s purposes come about on every side.   

The Lord gave me a word about this and fear out of Isaiah 51 when I first came to know the Lord and then slowly over the years, more and more fulfilled it in my life. Part of the verse he gave me that was so powerful is Isaiah 51:3, “The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”

I have found transformation in suffering and God’s faithfulness meeting me at every turn. Joy for me overflows when God’s purposes come forth that I have been involved in laboring for them.   But back a few years ago, something changed. I was in a period of my life of doing a lot of fasting.  And God was moving around me in undeniable ways. 

I was seeing some things like one week I rolled over my phone with a wheelchair and broke the front, only to a few days later, drop it accidently in the outdoor biffy.  Yet, somehow I ended up getting my phone back, after the blue stuff was poured all over it, and the screen was no longer cracked.  What?! I took the case off it and washed it good in soap and water and it never worked better.   

Instead of embracing suffering with joy, at some point, I shifted into this zone of protection of self. Ever struggled with this?  As an example, when my son was just 3 or 6 months old, he got pertussis from his DPT shot. It was so devastating to me in the fear of losing him that after it was over, I found myself wanting to distance myself from him some in my heart. I was afraid he would break my heart and got a taste of that pain in his illness. I wanted to protect myself instead of being all in and I had to this fear of loss that was trying to overtake me that I had to wrestle with.

This self-protection is not good.  What God asks for us is surrender not protecting ourselves.  I am not sure why or how to get out of this stuck place.  Things that were important to me and I was passionate about praying and fasting for, I am just grateful to not be investing in them and so devastated if they don’t work out. As love is a verb that comes from actions, and the feelings follow, it makes me too emotionally attached to pray for people or something regularly and consistently.  While I have some sadness when things don’t work out for people, I found this grateful love for caramelly decaf coffee instead and to be a little more detached to life.   Maybe this is a better place and what was needed.

“Passion, Passion, in your people oh God to go to the hard places.  Raise them up, workers in Your harvest field” sings in the background.

I think to an extent that I may be stuck and lost my sense of passion and urgency around preparing the body for His return.  Maybe I have lost my hope that God will move powerfully among us or that seeing this come forth is worth the spiritual warfare.  

I get glimpses of it and what God is doing, and tell myself I want that, but then struggle in wanting to invest in it by praying and fasting. Some of me just wants to sit back, watch TV and let life pass me by while I drink decaf coffee and eat popcorn.  I have determined the cost is too much and I want to escape difficulty.  

Underneath, I feel completely defeated.   I wonder if my prayers and fasting made any difference in the first place and were an exhaustive waste of time.   I still do.

At the same time that I am writing this someone is praying forth “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because You know that your work is not in vain” in the background.  Really, God?

When I think about the work of the Lord, I think about how Paul told Timothy a few things to think about:

First, don’t be afraid or feel bad to have a little wine to settle his stomach and help with his frequent ailments.  Timothy did not need to pull this hard line of no wine touching his lips and make things more difficult for himself.  I never drink, but I need to know when not to pull this hard line too and have grace for myself. 

Second, he told him to stir up his giftings.   He needed to keep himself stirred up in the Lord and not allow his passion to simmer.   It is good to remind ourselves what and what is most important to us and stir up those things we have a passion around. 

“Lord, stretch out Your hand. Only You can bring healing” sings.   

Third, he told him not to be timid or ashamed of Paul for his chains but walk in the power of God and join him in his suffering.  Paul tells him to have nothing to do with foolish arguments of the flesh that result in quarrels but walk in love towards others.

When others look down on us or judge us, it has a tendency to impact what we think of ourselves and our capabilities.  We want to prove ourselves or become offended.  Paul wanted Timothy to remember that his appointment came from the Lord and not from people.  At the end, he would be accountable to Him and not people of what he did with his talents.

Paul taught Timothy to fight the good fight of faith, living both closely to God and purposefully in His will and plans.  As Travis Hudson writes, endurance comes from having something meaningful to live for.  We have to connect with our meaning and purpose to have endurance.  Paul had tremendous endurance because he had great purpose. ⁴

It is important to be aligned with the Lord. Travis Hudson writes that as we surrender to God in response to what God has done for us, we place ourselves in a position to discern God’s guidance and leading. We align our heart with God’s when we surrender our life and our will to God.

He notes that some people only insist, “my will be done.”  On the other hand, are those who give themselves to God’s love in simple trust and surrender.   Learning to surrender daily also means accepting those difficult situations that cannot be changed.   We can either resist these unwelcome events and live with constant frustration and anger, or we can learn to accept them with God’s help and grace.   Accepting these unwanted intrusions can become the gateway to discerning how God wants us to live within them.⁵

“You are my first love, You are my only one, Lord there is nothing else for me.  Where else can I go, You have my heart alone. You are the only home I need.  I am Yours.  Yes I am wholly Yours” sings.

Here is the deal, God is doing something powerful and He has already been initiating this.  I don’t want to be left out or left behind.  He invites me in at every turn.  I can sit here and lick my wounds and complain about past sufferings or run into His purposes with my heart and hands open wide and experience the immense ocean of His power and love as He fulfills His purposes.  I will not be left behind.  Help me grow in endurance Lord!   

God, You are worthy of it all.  Forgive me for where I have fallen so short of this this past. It’s been a long night, and I am weary Lord.  It has been a long time, and I am hungry. Awaken me and fill me with your purposes once again.   

“Oh, Oh, I will live on Your altar, I am Yours” sings.  Let it be so, Lord, for all of us.

 

1.       1. Where Is Philippi, and Why Did Paul Write to the Philippians? - Topical Studies

2.     2.   Strong's Greek: 4880. συναποθνήσκω (sunapothnéskó) -- To die together with

3.      3.  Strong's Greek: 4800. συζάω (suzaó) -- To live together, to live with

4.      4.  Hudson, Trevor. 2024. In Search of God’s Will. NavPress.

5.      5.  Ibid.