Endurance by Mike Kelley

Good morning Men of Tri City,

I pray that everyone is doing well and staying healthy.  I also pray that everyone using the technology that we have been blessed with and taking advantage of the opportunities that are available either through Vimeo or ZOOM.  The Pastor has posted PODCASTS on the Thessalonians series (you can find these by looking under sermons then sort by series or by clicking the link on the order of service email).  Additionally, there is still a Men’s Bible study going on at 0600 on Thursday morning via ZOOM.  Contact Marshall Peterman for more information.

Speaking of the Thessalonians series, as I was going through my study last week, I was captivated with the beginning of lesson 3.  With all that is going on in our world today - the economic struggle, the restrictions with the stay at home order, and even the inability do the small things that we are normally accustomed to doing, I found the title and timing of lesson intriguing.  “Endurance” would certainly seem to be a relevant subject.

The very first question on page 23 of the study also caught my attention, “On a scale of 1 -10 (with 1 being “smooth sailing!”, and 10 being “Mayday! We are going down!”), how would you rate your life right now in terms of trials and troubles?”  My first thought was I wonder how different our responses may have been if we had answered this question six weeks ago as opposed to how we would answer it now.  Whether or not most of us are in the same relative position personally and professionally, our circumstances have changed greatly.  Many of our normal activities have been restricted, and we are now coping with a new environment where face masks are in and large gatherings are out. Whether you are a young father struggling with working from home while at the same balancing the needs of the kids who are also at home, or a father that is still working and concerned with getting sick, or if you are a more experienced guy who has a compromised immune system or underlying condition; the old normal is, at least temporarily, gone.  Keeping in mind that we humans struggle with change, this is a significant event in our lives which requires endurance on our part.   

The second question of the same Thessalonians lesson also got me thinking, “How do you define endurance?”  Most of us probably think of endurance as being a physical or mental trait only.  I have a running background so when I hear the word endurance, I think of long-distance running.  Others may think of both the physical and mental aspects of enduring a bad situation or a strenuous time.  In fact, if you want to read a great book combines all aspects of this type of endurance, I would recommend Alfred Lansing’s book “Endurance” which chronicles Ernest Shackleton’s exploration to Antarctica. 

But I believe that a more significant aspect of endurance is the importance of maintaining a spiritual endurance through any change of circumstance.  Keeping our spiritual life healthy in times of stress or persecution is critical.  We do this by remembering who our God is. The Pastor’s sermon this past Sunday, I think, summed this up nicely when he discussed how Naomi kept a proper perspective of God when her circumstances took a turn for the worse.  This ability is real challenge for us all.

As Christian men, we must not only personally endure through bad circumstances but we must also lead our families through this time.  Having studied leadership through the doctoral level, I can tell your that there are probably as many views and definitions of leadership as there are people to care to express those views.  But I can also tell you with great confidence, if we want to be successful leaders through these times, our guidance and direction does not come from a college textbook or any of the airport best sellers on leadership.  The genesis of great family leadership comes from the knowledge that all wisdom comes from God.  So, what does this Godly leadership look like?  Where do find an example to learn from?

As I said, having studied leadership extensively, and I think that one of the greatest leaders in the Bible was Nehemiah, and he has provided us a with wonderful model of Godly leadership.  I am sure that his story is familiar to all of you and now might be a great time for all to reread this small book.  Nehemiah was a powerful man within the Persian empire who had important job when his circumstances changed dramatically in chapter one of the book.  He received word that the remnant of the Jews who had went back to Judah were in great trouble and shame.  We find out later in the book that a famine had brought about economically perilous times to the remnant with fields being mortgaged and many families being sold into slavery.  In addition, the walls and gates of Jerusalem had been destroyed and not rebuilt.  This meant that the city, instead of being a place of great pride as the home of the temple and the center of the Jewish culture, was looked on with contempt by its neighbors.  Nehemiah probably had great hopes that the remnant who had returned were well on their way to rebuilding the nation of Israel after years of captivity – instead this dire news must have rocked his world, so to speak.  One minute he is powerful man with a vision of seeing his nation rebuilt and the reestablishment of a robust worship of his God, and then in the next moment finding that this vision was not only not coming to fruition but his nation seemed to be imploding.

Nehemiah’s response to this crisis is a great model for all of us facing a dramatic change in our circumstances.   The first thing that he did was to show a great compassion for those he cared for.  Then this great leader went before the Lord in prayer.  He started in prayer and remained consistently in prayer. He recognized that God was a great and awesome God, and that he (Nehemiah) was a servant.  He reminded God of his promises, and at the same time realized how dependent he was upon those promises.  He confessed sin and recognized the impact of that sin.  He was very specific in his prayer requests.  While I doubt that Nehemiah was thinking of building a great leadership model for generations to come, the central pillar of all that he did is the cornerstone of all Godly responses to crisis – he had and maintained an unfaltering faith that God is greater than any circumstance.

If we are to be Godly leaders, we must start with compassion on those whom we lead.  If we cannot see and try to understand the pain in those we lead, we can’t care for their needs.  Remember that while it is a struggle for us men to be at home, it is also a struggle for our wives and children - everyone’s perspective has been changed. If you are dealing with a loss of work or money, remember your family is dealing with the same issues. 

Prayer is essential.  It is no coincidence that we Christians sometimes find ourselves so distracted by circumstances at the beginning of a struggle, we have trouble praying.  Satan doesn’t want us praying to all powerful, merciful God.  Consequently, the thing that we should be doing most urgently, we often put off until the circumstances become worse.  If we want endurance, we need to pray in the beginning, in the middle, at the end, and beyond the crisis.  We need to lean on God for strength. We need to confess our sin and ask specifically for what we need.  We need to remember that we have the same amazing God that Nehemiah had. 

I have only focused on chapter one of Nehemiah and have barely scratched the surface the leadership lessons that can be gleaned in the book.  Through it all, Nehemiah had a spiritual endurance that provided the building block for all other endurance.  I encourage you all to reread this gem of a book.