IBS COLOSSIANS 1 : 11

“Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience”

When I think of times in my life when I experienced endurance, I can think of a few. But a big one was hiking Agua, one of the biggest extinct volcanos in Guatemala. When I went two years ago I didn’t really want to do it. I mean I could see the thing from my backyard. We had to get up early, cram in a van, and then drive to our destination. The group I was with was a big group, and they were very slow. I didn’t have a lot of food and we had to hike 5 hours just to get to the top, not including all the stops. While I was trudging along I kept on thinking “it will be worth it at the top, everyone said it will get worth it at the top. But it wasn’t. it was completely covered with clouds and it was 30 degrees. But as I read this verse I realized my attitude was completely wrong. Yes, it would have been epic if the top wasn’t covered with clouds, but when I got to the top I didn’t, as Paul writes, joyfully give thanks to the father in our time of long-suffering. And as my mom later told me I could’ve been thankful for being able to even climb up the mountain, but instead I complained that I couldn’t feel my ankles. But God is good and gracious and he knows we can’t do it on our own. He knows without him we will burn out before we even get to the base of the mountain. God gives us strength when we need it the most, in his timing. And when we are strengthened we grow, and we grow fruit. And when we look back we should always give thanks for our growth, and never stop praying for more.

Application

Today I will draw a mountain on my hand, to remind me to pray for patience and endurance. So that when I get to the top I give thanks with a joyful heart, clouds or no