Because of the 250th anniversary of the United States this coming weekend, and because many people I love are going through seasons of difficulty whether it be career, personal, spiritual, emotional or a combination thereof, I have been thinking about what it means to endure.

No matter what you think about the United States today, if you look back at the men and women who risked everything to establish the country, you see endurance. The fact that George Washington had any army to speak of after Valley Forge shows endurance and faith—faith that something better could come of all this hardship. The hunger and the cold would be worth something or why persevere? Why would men suffering deprivation and frostbite, not to mention the uncertainty of a future paycheck, stick around if they didn’t believe in the cause of freedom? For that matter, why would Washington stay with his troops when he could ride for the warm fires of Mount Vernon? They had faith that enduring embodied the hope of a greater prize.

Even before that cold winter, many of the colonial leaders knew that signing their name to the Declaration of Independence would endanger their estates and livelihood. Some of the men did lose, if not everything, substantially by taking the side of the colonies. It would’ve been easier to go along, to pay the taxes and be good little British citizens. But these men were learned. They looked at the Magna Carta and said we have worth and because of that worth, we should have the right to say how we will live.

Many of them were Christians. Those who weren’t, knew the examples of Scripture. They would have known that “endure” is one of the apostle Paul’s favorite words.

In part, because Paul endured. While all the apostles were persecuted to one degree or another, Paul, perhaps because of his heritage as part of the leading governance of the Jews, seemed to have been singled out to a greater degree. In a few passages he lists the beatings he received, the murder and execution attempts he survived, and then all the natural disasters he encountered with their own pains. He endured much.

But like the U.S. founding fathers much later, Paul had his eyes on something other than his endurance. He called on Timothy to endure. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”  2 Timothy 4:5, NIV He reminded the Corinthian church not to succumb to temptation, but to persevere, looking toward Jesus. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 And later he told them about an incident that he and his fellow missionaries barely survived. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9

Finally, in that last verse, we get the clue to Paul’s enduring. But he told his fledgling church that when all hope appears to be gone, you endure because God gives you the strength. You endure because God lights your way.

Enduring is rarely pleasant. It is life that simply takes the next step. It opens its eyes, looks to God, and begs for guidance and mercy.

In the early days of the Revolutionary War, there was a lot of life like that. But, and this is key, there were enough praying Christians to uphold those who were enduring. There were enough who looked to God and to providence and begged for guidance and mercy.

Today, I pray for all my friends and family who endure in this moment. May God guide them and be merciful to them. But I also praise God for His intervention in the history of mankind and how He walks with those who endure.

When I have five or more comments, the next winner will receive a copy of the Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers.

Before the blog’s actual offerings, I’d like to remind readers that subscribers who comment on the website during the summer have chances to win weekly small prizes. Each comment also earns a chance towards an end-of-the-summer gift card plus larger prize.

Since Diana was the only one who commented this week, she gets a copy of His Forever: Stories of Real People Finding Jesus.

That said, going forward I will wait until there are a minimum of five comments before selecting a winner. Hopefully, that can still be once a week!

Now… onto the blog!

I do not relax well.

Biblically speaking, resting and relaxing are about creating intentional space in life. Even if it looks like I’m doing nothing, my brain speeds from one scenario or obligation to another. The way I’ve mentally pre-played or replayed life events, I think I’ve gone through life five or six times minimum. But the anticipatory imagination and the post-event would-a, could-a’s don’t do my mind or body any good. Those mental exercises, don’t profit in the eternal or even earthly scheme of things. As Jesus said, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV)

It’s not something I do well, but I’m trying. I know I need to relax in my days so I can rest in my nights. Without the balance, adrenaline wakes me up at 1 AM and then I can’t survive the next day without a nap.

But how do I become intentional about relaxation?

My smart watch does think there’s one time that I relax really well. Oddly enough, my mind says that I’m not relaxing, but the sleep app on my watch says that whenever I do my morning Bible study that I’m asleep. With God’s word on my lap, my heartrate slows, dropping my pulse and breathing until the sensors read that stillness as sleep.

That is true relaxation, true peace.

And that’s what I should seek whenever I feel stressed. Not my videogames. Not mindless scrolling through my YouTube channels. Not even the latest novel that’s captured my interest.

Knowing all this, did I meditate on God’s word today until the peace calmed my spirit?

No.

Did I read the Bible this morning? Yes. But knowing that I needed to get ready for work made it quick and disjointed. I remember reading about the birth of John the Baptist. I remember reading “my peace I give you, not as the world gives…” because it fits with where my thoughts are on this blog. But whatever else I read in that half hour has evaporated because I didn’t relax into the arms of God.

And my watch didn’t say I was asleep this morning either.

Fortunately, I’m equally yoked. Gary doesn’t relax well either so we halfheartedly scold each other from time to time. Instead of videogames, he does podcast stories, but it’s basically the same. We know our defaults are not true relaxation. Even a sudden cat-induced nap, pleasant as it may be, is distracted and unintentional. If you look at God’s plan, rest and relaxation are intentional and intentionally focused on Him.

Psalm 62 (among other places) reminds us that we should find our rest in God. His word and His comfort should be our escape from the world.

Hopefully, as the remainder of today plays out, Gary and I can remember that. Now that work is done and we plan to use the day’s remaining hours to celebrate the anniversary of our elopement 43 years ago, we can rest in each other and our mutual love of our Savior.

Three days ago, my dad became 90. He entered a new decade that many people never see. And he still lives on his own, is a part of several social groups that meet either monthly or weekly, and bowls twice a week during the school year. In April he had one game in the 190s!

I am proud of the way my father has aged. Has he slowed down? Sure. But he hasn’t stopped. He has chosen to become a little better each day. He acknowledges when he gets stuck in a rut and often will take action (like a walk around the block) to get out of that rut. More importantly, he tries to live godly. His daily routine includes prayer.

Is he perfect? Of course, not. But more than just by age, he is becoming. As should all of us as we are sanctified and grow closer to Jesus.

The Bible has a lot to say about becoming. And becoming offers two paths. You can become corrupt or you can become like God. Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 53:3, NIV) And [Jesus] said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3, NIV)

To become all that God intends for us to become requires a sacrifice of our egos. We need to recognize that becoming who we were meant to be is not within our power. We cannot willpower our way to our true selves. Unfortunately, the sin within us fights that every step of the way.

Some days, it’s easier to live at the foot of God’s throne and stay in submission. Other times, we want what we want and we ignore the still small voice that encourages us to be something more, part of something and Someone bigger than ourselves.

Isn’t incredibly convicting that when we look back on our lives, that our best moments, the ones we felt most content to acknowledge, were the ones when we were least like ourselves? Those moments of becoming when Christ worked in us and through us revealing glimpses of heaven to us and those around us.

If any book of the Bible really talks about becoming, it is Ephesians. In its chapters we learn how to become the body of Christ, how to become a mature and functioning part of that body, how to become light and mirror the Light, and how to become unified—whether in marriage of community. Paul commits these truths about becoming to a group of believers that he loved. These were the people who cried with him when they knew the Spirit was leading him to danger in Jerusalem. Because he valued them, he didn’t want them to be content in who they had been, or even how they had changed thus far. He wanted them to continue—becoming even more different than the world around them.

When I was a teen, when I still didn’t believe who and what God is, my dad announced we were doing a family Bible study through Advent using prophecies from the book of Isaiah. The beauty of those words was an early tug at my heart that eventually led to me accepting Christ and pursuing faith. Dad’s becoming more Christ-like influenced me to take God a bit more seriously.

It only took another ten years and multiple witnesses.

But thanks, Dad, for an example of becoming before I ever wanted to. Happy birthday!