Endurance

by

This past week, I have heard from people who said in effect, "I do not know how much longer I can hang in there." Their discouragement, while focused on specifics, was in relation to the larger picture of challenges we are facing simultaneously.

I share their (your) discouragement and feel the soul-draining effects of these days. And like you, I have to decide how to live in the coming days. In my discernment, the word ‘endurance’ is paramount.

In challenging times, what the opposition hopes for most is not that we will become discouraged, but that we will depart. They hope we will give up and go away. This is the very thing we must not do, and that’s where endurance becomes our watch word.

The writer of Hebrews penned the discouraging report of chapter eleven, documenting opposition, persecution, and martyrdom. And then, chapter twelve began, “So then let’s also run the race that is laid out for us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” These, for me, are our marching orders in times like we are facing.

I begin in remembering that I am not alone in my weariness or in my calling. The cloud of witnesses tell me, “The time you are going through is not new. We have been here before.” And they go on to say, “Run your leg of the race, just as we ran ours. You can do it!” Through their example and encouragement, I see that it is my turn to endure, and that God’s grace is sufficient for me (as it was for them) to do so.

But even with this general inspiration, I have to make particular decisions. I cannot speak for you, but I will share with you what endurance means specifically for me. I find it in three phrases given to me by fellow travelers.

First, live “the pace of grace.” Susan Muto writes about it in her book, ‘Meditation in Motion.’ It means stepping back and slowing down when we feel overwhelmed. It means (as Dallas Willard taught) practicing disciplines of abstinence, not just ones of engagement. It is accepting Jesus’ invitation to “come away to a quiet place and rest for awhile” (Mark 6:31) and remembering that he did this himself (Luke 5:16). Reduction is not subtraction, it is recharging.

Second, “practice the better.” Richard Rohr gives us this counsel, making it one of the core principles of the Center for Action and Contemplation. His phrase reflects the wisdom of nonviolent resistance, which is that we must use the bulk of our energy promoting the common good. This does not mean we cease to speak and act with prophetic critique, but it does mean that we must be most about the ministry of reconciliation and the vocation of overcoming evil with good. That is, we must expend our energy constructively, not reactively.

And third, we must “stride toward freedom.” This wisdom comes from Martin Luther King Jr. and all those who sing, “we shall overcome” because we are convinced that “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” This is our faith…giving ourselves to things hoped for, to things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1).

Endurance. Sustained by the pace of grace. Realized by the practice of the better. Advanced by the stride toward freedom.

Through these means, I aim to endure. I pray that you will likewise find your ways to endure.