Endure To The End

Endure to the End

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. 1 Samuel 30:6

DAVID WAS IN A PREDICAMENT. He had taken refuge with the Philistines, Israel’s enemy, to avoid Saul’s unreasonable wrath, and now the Philistines were about to go to battle against Saul’s armies. Would David have to fight against his friends—and against the king he had twice refused to kill—or would he distance himself from the Philistines and provoke their wrath too? Thankfully, God spared him from that dilemma; the Philistine commanders didn’t trust him enough to bring him into battle with them. But then David faced another crisis. After he and his men returned home, they found their camp had been raided by the Amalekites, and their wives, children, and possessions were gone. His own men—keenly aware that he twice could have killed Saul and ended their seemingly endless exile—were furious. They wanted to stone him. They were tired of being on the run and facing life-threatening dangers day after day after day.

Such is the journey on the way to God’s calling. It can test and stretch and press us in excruciating ways. Few of us will ever face the physical dangers David did, but the spiritual battles can be just as intense. David’s testing reached a climax at this point; these were the last big dilemmas and battles of faith he faced before the promise of his kingship was fulfilled. But they came at the end of a very long, arduous process. Most of us can endure a brief intense time of testing. Not many of us can go from test to test for years without being tempted to drop our hopes, prayers, and calling. But the faith journey stretches beyond our strength, and if we want to receive what God has in store for us, we will have to walk it out to the end.

Your journey of faith will likely take you through some deep valleys, and while there, you may feel like giving up. Don’t. Sometimes the greatest victories are just on the other side of them. They are often the last stage in a long process of enduring. God will carry you through them if you will cling to him and his word to the end.

We conquer not in any brilliant fashion; we conquer by continuing.