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Beyond Endurance

Isaiah 9:7a & 7c

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, … from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Last night, I had a long heart-to-heart conversation with a Christian brother who’s in his mid-thirties, a faithful husband and father, and a successful salesman, but who’s fed up with the world, at constant war with the enemy, and desperately praying for a way out of his dead-end job. As we talked through the night, reminding each other of Christ’s courage and passion, it struck me that the Christian life isn’t merely an enduring one, but a zealous one. See, we can endure a tornado by tying ourselves to a tree, and we can endure a battle by curling up in a bunker, but zeal looks the storm in the eye and runs to the front lines. So, effectively, God isn’t hanging on with white knuckles against the barrages of hell—He’s the Mover and Shaker. He isn’t hiding out in the heavens waiting for the dust to clear—He’s incarnating into the dust: into the thick of the action: and into the trenches of your life and mine.  

So Christian, open your clinched fists today and lift them to the Father in prayer. You’ll need His zeal for the work ahead.