Strength to endure

When I was a teen….a long time ago, I listened to a lot of Christian artist.  Some were “rocky” and some were “mellow”.  Chris Christian was one of the mellow artist.  As I was praying about the post for the morning the lyrics from one of his songs kept playing in my head.  The song is entitled, Look how far you’ve come.  Here is the first verse and chorus.  You can listen to the entire song here.  Very 70’s “don’t judge me” Jon Quitt.

So you've lost your will to live
Seems you're down to your last friend
And the weight of the world keeps trying to pull you in

Chorus:
Don't give up. Don't give in. Give it all to Him.
'Cause He cares so much more than you know
When it seems who you really want to be
Is someone you'll never become
Just look how far you've come

BUT, this encouragement only last for a moment.  Strength to endure comes primarily from looking ahead.  Not just looking for a hopeful thought, but looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.  When we look to him, we see that he endured for a purpose.  He was thinking of us.  Jesus gives us hope to endure.  He will never leave us as orphans.  His presence can find us in the midst of the darkest storms.  His voice can be heard in the greatest of chaos.  His comfort can be felt deep down in our spirit. 

You may feel alone, but you are a part of the body of Christ.  You are connected to him and to so many others who are walking the journey of life also.  He who did not spare his own son, is committed to finishing what he started in your life.  Don’t give up, Don’t give in