Endurance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1

It takes endurance to leave your original home and ultimately end up in America. It takes courage and strength to walk through deserts and over mountains; to travel by boat; or to apply for programs that, years later, result in a plane flight to St. Louis and a new life. And it takes endurance to deal with the million different ways that life is different in your new home—all the new customs, new words, and new ways of living.

Jesus knows endurance. He is the one who loved us so much that he endured the cross for us, and all of the suffering that went before it. He endured all the way to death, though as the Son of God, he had the power to stop this suffering at any time. But he didn’t. He finished his course. And then he rose from the dead, never to die again. Jesus is now the source of everlasting life for all of us who love and trust him.

Pray for those who have endured so much, that they might know the One who loves them so much he endured death and resurrection to bring them home to him forever.

Dear Father, bless our new American friends. Help them to adapt to their new lives, and above all, to come to trust in your Son, who endured everything for them, because he loves them. Amen.

By Dr. Kari Vo