Endurance

Wow! This has been an incredible start to the semester. We have seen God do some mighty things in the last weeks. We brought “The Maze” to the SFA campus and were able to share the gospel with over 1,000 students; 24:7 has seen students of all denominations come to worship and lift the name of Jesus on campus; our life groups are operating in a deeper level of community than we have ever seen; we just arrived home from World Mandate where several of our students surrendered to a call to the nations, and several students have been saved!

Please continue to pray into what God is doing in this younger generation. We are seeing a mighty move of God and it is fueled by the prayers of the saints.

This month I wanted to share something with you which has deeply challenged me ever since I heard it. David Eubanks of the Free Burma Rangers shared at World Mandate an experience he had while climbing a mountain peak. He said while he and his friends were in the parking lot they were all excited and anticipating this difficult but exciting climb to the top. As they got deep into the journey they experienced a drastic worsening of conditions on the mountain. He said many of his friends were saying they were ready to turn back. It wasn’t worth risking their lives just to get to the top. They encountered a greater level of resistance than they expected and decided to turn around.

David responded by asking them if they didn’t know the cost in the parking lot before beginning the climb? He challenged them not to turn back just because what came at them was unexpected and difficult.

Isn’t this just like our walk with Christ? How many times do we shrink away from adversity in our lives simply because it isn’t what we expected? David challenged us to examine again the cost of following Jesus and I want to challenge you to do the same. Jesus called us to follow Him and love Him even if it means forsaking our jobs, losing friends, or even to the extent of losing our own lives.

The reality is that following Jesus has already cost us our lives. Our salvation meant that we had to die in order that He might give us new life. Why is it that after our salvation we are still so determined to hang on to the things of the world?

If you’re going through adversity as you’re walking out this life God has called us to live, take heart, He has overcome the world. He has not left us alone but He has also not promised us it would be easy.

In Acts 4, the disciples are encountering major resistance to the message of the Gospel. They don’t turn back, rather they pray, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

May this be our prayer as we encounter difficulty and resistance. Count the cost of following Him but know that ultimately, no matter what it may cost you, HE IS WORTH IT!