4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Endurance and encouragement. We like encouragement, but I am not so sure about the process of gaining endurance. Can’t someone make some “instant endurance” that can be packaged and sold? That way we can bypass all the unpleasantries and get right to the good stuff, the encouragement. Or maybe we can just let other people get the process of endurance production in their lives and we can get the spillover of encouragement. We certainly are willing to learn from other’s difficulties, especially if it means we don’t have to personally experience any hardships ourselves! But endurance and only be learned personally and it is essential to receiving encouragement that has eternal connections. Imagine, if you will, your small boat adrift in a storm. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, ropes are thrown and you know that your boat will not sink, that you will make it through the storm. Can you imagine the relief at that moment, the encouragement you would feel as your rescuers greet you? What if there had not been the storm. How would you have felt about those ‘intrusive ropes’ cast in the middle of your afternoon relaxation? Get the point. When we are in difficulties and we stay in the struggle, the Scriptures speak to us in new ways, ways that we could never have imagined without the storm. That is why the connection between endurance and encouragement is a real connection. And when that connection is functioning, we have hope, hope that reaches from eternity and holds us safe in our storms.
The Arnold Journey 