Enduring Faith – Barbara Kain Parker

Clearly, God is both aware of our needs and hears and answers our prayers:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.[1]

When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.[2]

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.[3]

We believe Jesus’ words – we believe in having faith; in fact, how many of us have asked the Lord to increase our faith? Most, if not all, of us would have to say yes. So how do we get around Jesus’ reply to His disciples when they requested the same thing?

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”[4]

Now that stretches the mind! Haven’t we all asked and believed for things that He’s never provided? Hmmm, yep. How can a mustard-seed sized faith move mountains, let alone bring about healing or fix a myriad of other assorted problems?

Following a conversation recently with a discouraged friend, Paul received the following insights from the Holy Spirit that help shed some light on the question:

Faith is a legal issue. As we know it is not that you need to have ‘enough’ faith; but I now think that it is the longevity of faith that is key. When faith is maintained for a needed period of time, then the Lord God can issue an order for the Holy Ones to declare that something can now take place. Enduring faith is key.

It seems that even just one person with enduring faith can tip the scales. It only took Abraham’s faith to establish a mighty move of God.

Then when I got in the Jacuzzi last night I had this thought: David had a whole heart after God, but when he was told he would be king, he did not take any advantage to make himself king, but waited until the Lord set the stage for him to become king. So is this the part of the Key of David: Isaiah 22:22 mentions double doors – two doors. Are these two doors Grace and Faith? Grace is the Lord’s part, and Faith is our part. Two doors – grace and faith.

We are now in the stage of enduring faith. Only the Lord knows how long this faith needs to be sustained in order for the Elohim-created laws to be fulfilled so that He can act according to His laws and negate what the enemy does and fulfill His, the Lord’s, will.

Some may ask, “What do Holy Ones have to do with administering God’s orders?” Daniel provides further insight:

“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven…The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’” ^[5]

Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking.^[6]

That word, ‘certain’ in Hebrew is palmoni, and palmoni is a holy one, or a watcher. Some time ago, the Lord told us that the holy ones are the judicial branch of the divine government, and as it is in the physical realm, the other two branches are executive and legilative. We believe that the watchers are the police force of the judicial branch; here on earth we might call them marshals, such as are present when one goes to court. As in the physical, it seems true that the holy ones/marshals of the heavenlies are involved in making declarations and carrying out the court’s orders.

In other words, if we practice enduring faith, no matter how long it takes to see God move; we can expect to eventually witness the fulfillment of His promises. Sometimes the Lord’s moves are immediate and sometimes they happen during our lifetime, and sometimes it happens after we’ve gone. Looking first at biblical examples of faith fulfilled:

• Samuel’s mother, Hannah was barren for “years and years”: For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord[7]
• David was extremely distressed when he and his men returned to Ziklag, only to discover that in their absence the Amalekites had captured and burned down the city, taking all of the women captive in the process. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”[8] Not only were David’s wives and all of the women rescued, but his men also defeated and plundered their enemy.
• Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”[9]
• All of the Old Testament prophets looked forward to the arrival of the Messiah, yet none of them lived to see it in person. Did they give up on God? No. They believed in the Promise, and eventually it was fulfilled.
• The first century Church expected the imminent return of Jesus:
  • Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.[10]
  • The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.[11]
  • Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.[12]

Nothing has changed between biblical times and now in terms of whether God’s promises are fast or slow in coming, and examples of each abound. Ultimately, we have a choice: We can choose to doubt God’s promises, and give up too soon like the Israelites:

Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord. Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands. [13]

Or, we can follow the many examples of the members of the Faith Hall of Fame[14] and trust that God means what He says and will always fulfill His promises:

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.[15]

Enduring faith is that which carries us through the worst that the enemy can throw at us, and was not confined to Old Testament faith warriors. It manifested in New Testament times as Christians chose to die in the Roman Coliseum, and it manifested in the lives of Stephen and all of the apostles as they chose persecution and death over denouncing their faith. The apostle Paul wrote:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.[16]

Moving on down through the years, enduring faith continues to be historically evident in the lives of God’s people. One shining example is evident in the life of Horatio Gates Spafford, whose name most people won’t recognize immediately. One year after losing his four-year-old son to scarlet fever, he and his wife and four daughters endured the massive Chicago fire in 1871. Despite their own heavy financial losses, they sought to demonstrate Christ’s love by assisting other desperately hurting people. His story continues:

In late 1873 Spafford and his wife and four daughters scheduled a trip from the United States to France. Due to work requirements, Spafford sent the rest of his family ahead of himself, aboard the French liner Ville du Havre. He would join them in France a few days later. On November 22, in the middle of the Atlantic, the French liner collided with the English vessel Lochearn and sank in twelve minutes. All four of Spafford’s daughters perished; only his wife survived. She cabled him the news “Saved alone” from Wales. He quickly departed on the next ship to meet her there. When Spafford’s ship passed over the spot in the High Atlantic where his daughters had succumbed to the depths, he began to pen the words “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll…” The text of the refrain is a paraphrase of the words of Julian of Norwich: “And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

It required an enormous amount of faith and trust for Spafford to declare “It Is Well with My Soul” in the midst of such tragic loss. Yet, when we are reminded of the love of God from which nothing can separate us (Romans 8:38-39), we too can be strengthened and comforted.[17]

While we may not have recognized Spafford’s name, most of us have been touched by his song, which testifies to his enduring faith:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

when sorrows life sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, thou hast taught me so say,

“It is well, it is well with my soul”[18]

Which will we choose, a temporary faith that falls apart when bad things happen, or enduring faith that cannot be shaken? Our reactions when  the enemy throws everything in his arsenal at us will tell that tale. When temporary faith is in place, doubt sets in and we begin to ask questions such as:

• Where was God when I needed Him?
• How could a loving God allow this, that or whatever?
• Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?
• Why haven’t God-given prophetic words or dreams been fulfilled in my life?

Temporary faith is likely to give up on God, at least some of the time, while enduring faith is rock solid because it’s built on the Rock that can’t be shaken. In Jesus’ words:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” [19]

Jesus was well aware that not all of us would choose wisely, as is evident in His question:

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Each of us has a choice to either continue on with the perception that we need more faith or to simply step into and use the mustard-sized faith we have been given. The real question then becomes whether or not our faith will be temporary or enduring.

[1] Matthew 6:31-33

[2] Psalm 91:15

[3] John 14:13-14

[4] Matthew 21:21-22

^[5] Daniel 4:13,17

^[6] Daniel 8:13.

[7] Samuel 1:27-28

[8] 1 Samuel 30:8

[9] Luke 2:25-32

[10] Romans 13:11

[11] 1 Peter 4:7

[12] 1 John2:18

[13] Psalm 106:24-27

[14] Hebrews 11

[15] Psalm 146:5-7

[16] Philippians 1:21

[17] https://bspc.org/it-is-well-with-my-soul-the-story-behind-the-hymn/

[18] https://hymnary.org/text/when_peace_like_a_river_attendeth_my_way

[19] Matthew 7:24-27