11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
In these verses we gain the understanding that we need to gain endurance and patience. If you notice Paul says "being strengthened" so that we might have them. To be strengthened means to make stronger; to give strength to. How do we become stronger?
If you are looking to become stronger in an area of your body what do you do? You go to the gym and work out. This is tough, it takes time and a lot of effort. You start to lift things that are heavier than you've ever lifted. You are putting more pressure on those area than they are used to. Well it is the same way spiritually. If we want to grow in patience and endurance than we have to become stronger, we have to work them out. If you don't want your patience to be tested, don't ask God for more of it. You see our faith is another muscle that we must work out. It may be that in order for growth to take place in those areas we have to go through things we have never gone through before. We may have to face trials and pressures that we've never experienced before. But we serve a faithful God! Deuteronomy 31:8 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
The second verse is that scripture says to joyfully give thanks, because we are qualified for the inheritance of his kingdom of light! No matter what we may go through we should praise God! Psalm 74:21 says "Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name." If we are strengthening our patience and endurance, I can bet ya that we're needy. In our time of need, when all we have is our faith, praise God!
Here's the deal, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthains 5:21). For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). God's son, Jesus went through so much torture for he cried out “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Later, at noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Mark 15:33-34). You see this is what had to happen in order for us to qualified. Sometimes, actually a lot of the time, we take this for granted. In the message version, Hebrews 12:1-3 reminds us, Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
When we can comprehend and understand what has already happened for us then it makes every other trial we go through seem quite small. This passage has challenged me to take each day and treasure it. The challenge for us today is to take time ever day and simply praise God for what He has already done in our lives!
~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford
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