Endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up
– Rick Warren
He set sail for Antarctica in 1914 with 27 men. One hundred miles from land his ship became trapped in ice and then he watched helplessly as it was crushed and sank. He and his men traveled five months, barely surviving on the ice. After leaving most of his men on Elephant Island, he and five others navigated 800 miles of open sea in a 22-foot lifeboat. On South Georgia Island, he crossed snow-coved mountain peaks, not knowing what was on the other side in search of and finding a whaling station. He saved all 27 men after 22 months in the frozen world of the South Pole. Sir Ernest Shackleton knew that difficulties would come on his expedition and in anticipation of this, he aptly named his ship The Endurance.
Our sense of time has changed and endurance is not compatible with it.
We are living in a world now full of instant gratification and communication, therefore, our sense of time has adapted. If we want the latest phone, we click a few buttons and Amazon is put in motion, guaranteeing that this phone will be in our hands within two days (or sooner). If we want to ask someone a question, we shoot them a text and often hear from them within seconds. I wonder what our grandparents and great-grandparents would have thought of this?
Because we are now conditioned for an instant lifestyle, I find that many are stressed and anxious when a quick answer, fix or purchase does not happen. As a middle school teacher, I witness this in my students’ insatiable need to contact anyone they deem a priority, immediately. Because the emphasis of school is not to provide a social society for my students, (I’m sorry, kids! I know you think otherwise,) the fact that cellphones use is limited, leaves many frustrated.
This need for perpetuating an instant lifestyle has also wormed its way into adult life. When I’ve had to confiscate a phone from a student, the parent must come to school and pick it up. I cannot count the number of times that a parent will say, “I need Johnny to have this phone with him at all times in case I need to communicate with him.” It makes me wonder what kinds of things would be so urgent that this instant communication must be available. Yes, I know sometimes there are emergencies but our emotional compasses often direct us north when, in fact, we need to travel south.
Our instant lifestyle can smother sensibility. When someone pulls in front of us on the highway, it angers us because we’re slowed down a few seconds. When contacting a business, we often have to wait on hold and we seethe because of it. We look in multiple checkout lines at the store to see which one may save us a minute or two. Because of these things and more, endurance is becoming an archaic concept; it is incompatible with the instant lifestyle.
Endurance is a conscious choice not a reaction.
Endurance is an action that has no “instants” attached to it. It is inaccurate to equate it to spending an extra amount of time waiting for a red light to change because the person in front of you stopped on the yellow. Most definitions in the dictionary identify endurance as a noun but I consider it a verb; a long-term action.
To endure means to have stamina, which comes from a combination of the Latin word, stā(re) which means, to stand and the Sanskrit word, sthāman which means, place. Endurance literally means to stand in place, to be unmovable; it is not the same as being stubborn which means to be untamable, wild. Endurance is a conscious choice not a reaction to something. Someone makes the choice of endurance because the end goal is worthy of the difficulties.
Two Benefits of Endurance.
As I reflect on the difficulties Ernest Shackleton faced, I would understand if he apologized to his men and prepared for death. Shackleton refused the short-term solution because he knew that his goal, adapted from his original one, the saving of 28 lives, had great value. He kept this goal steadfast in his mind and endured, putting one foot in front of the other.
- The choice of endurance benefits ourselves.
The Bible emphasizes the benefits of endurance for an individual. The Old Testament character, Job, faced multiple hardships: the loss of his wealth, his children and his health. He could have chosen to give up, but he endured. Why? Job chose endurance because he valued the relationship he had with God; he learned to trust that God would use these horrible things to make him a better person and God did.
The Bible informs us that enduring difficulties creates in us a strength of character that we would not have gained, otherwise. Romans 5:3-4 (NLT) states:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
2. The choice of endurance benefits others.
Shackleton’s choice to endure saved the lives of his crew but his choice also built character within them. They learned that the harmony of working together through extreme difficulties builds a bond. They needed this bond in order to survive. Alone, they would not have lived; together, it was possible.
Others benefit from the wisdom we gain from endurance. Because a person endured the anguish of battling cancer of a loved one, he/she can give specific help and encouragement to others who find themselves in the same place. Our endurance of horrible circumstances becomes a gift and comfort to those that travel down that same road. God makes blessings from hardships.
As we contemplate the workout of endurance, it strengthens our souls; we have hope. This hope enables us to endure when the difficulties of life bombard us.
