Growth Produces Endurance

…therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 2 Thessalonians 1:4 NASB⁣

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Faith

Faith becomes evident when love grows. We must train behind the scenes to produce endurance for the times to come for everything in life.⁣

Train

Do you need endurance to keep up with all the players until the end of the entire game? Train. ⁣
Do you need endurance to stay on course and finish the 5K, half-marathon, marathon, or IronMan? Train. ⁣
People don’t want to put in the work behind the scenes that it takes to produce endurance.
They don’t see how many shots are taken or how many miles one logs behind the scenes before seeing the actual game or performance.⁣

Growth takes place during training, and training takes both time and action. ⁣You can’t show up to the game (or the show) and expect to be successful if you don’t train. ⁣

And guess what? ⁣

Training is hard. ⁣

Training takes commitment. Don’t give up! ⁣

Training takes perseverance to overcome the obstacles that will distract us or make us quit the training. ⁣

Training produces growth. Growth produces endurance. ⁣

Grow

Spiritual training is just as important in life as physical training. ⁣Spiritual training includes reading and spending time in God’s Word, praying God’s Word, and participating in worship. ⁣

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Spending time with God to build up and encourage our spirits allows us to endure the trials that will come. ⁣Remember how you respond to trials will be different because of the endurance built behind the scenes. ⁣

Endure

⁣And those who share your faith will come together as one to walk with you and encourage you and be with you through it all, and together we will rejoice when we get to the other side of the trial straight into the victory! ⁣

Heavenly Father, I have faced some hard days. Please help me to remember how spiritual training is similar to physical training. I need to train, to grow, and to endure every day. And through it all, I know YOU are with me. For that, I am so grateful. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray, Amen

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Basking in His Light

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Mindy Lee Hopman

Mindy Lee Hopman, an author, speaker, and educator will lead you on the adventure of discovering your faith, establishing your identity in Christ, and finding your place with your people in this world.