Stand Your Ground-Day 17

Remember those earlier days…when you stood your ground in the face of suffering  (Hebrews 10:32).

We’re on the homestretch of 21 Days of Strength. We’ve looked at several ways God makes us strong as we grow closer to Him. He helps us stand our ground through His Word, prayer, and joining forces with other believers.  Often, our strength is best developed during times of weakness—especially during seasons of suffering.

Life can be hard.  It’s not like Jesus didn’t warn us.  “In this world you will have trouble.”  But “take heart,” He reminds us.  “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).   I need to stay connected to Jesus if I hope to stand my ground and stay strong in the spiritual fight.

To stand one’s ground during times of trouble is to endure.  Endurance  is a special kind of spiritual strength.  The Greek word for endure is hypomeno.  It comes from two words:  hypo or “under”, and meno, “to remain.”   Meno is the same word Jesus uses when He tells us to abide in him (John 15:7).

So to endure is to “remain under” a painful trial with grace.   It’s bearing up under a load of trouble with a tranquil mind.  Through the years, I’ve learned that endurance is one of the ways we train ourselves to sustain our selves.  And it’s an important weapon in the arsenal we’re building to grow strong in the Lord.

Will you be able to stand your ground when trouble hits?  You can’t endure apart from Jesus.  Abide in Him daily.  Rely on the Holy Spirit. Stay filled up with God’s Word.  Pray always.  And don’t travel alone.

A special reminder to help you stay strong: If you don’t abide in the light, you can’t endure in the dark.

Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4 AMP).