‘…for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder ..(Heb 11:6). 

Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things yet to emerge (Heb 11:1). In another way, it is the expectation that a promise made will enjoy fulfilment. When an individual has interacted with an entity for a period of time, he can confidently rely on the capability of such an entity whenever a claim is associated with him. For example we travel by aircrafts because we believe they are safe (to a large extent) for that purpose. Enduring faith is a product of trust in God exercised by a believer based on his routine walking experience with God. This kind of faith is built in seasons when things are hard, when it doesn’t make sense to trust in God again and when all hope of rescue has faded away. 

No better person in the Bible fit into this season of life than Brother Job in that he couldn’t understand how a flourishing empire of his should suddenly crumble with no fault of his, and God was watching despite been regarded as righteous. Does this resonate with your state also? No doubt age wasn’t on the side of Job when the calamities befell him and  holding unto God didn’t make sense (even his wife echoed this sentiment). Notwithstanding, he drew his enduring faith in the YAHWEH God from previous daily encounters with Him.

(The question to ask ourselves is: what past encounters with God do you have that you can draw from when challenging seasons come?) 

Adherent of enduring faith is upfront on the true state of things but equally confess that ‘even if he slay me, yet my confidence in Him will not be shaken because everything will eventually work well for him ultimately’ (Job 13:15). We can operate on this faith level just as we do vouch for someone we’ve trusted for so long after a prolonged unbroken relationship of trust. Bible characters like Abraham, Joseph, Ruth exemplified this type of faith and were handsomely rewarded by God (Rom 4:3; Gen 39:9b; Ruth 1:16). 

Anytime we face challenges, let’s recall God’s past helps and use such testimonies as springboard to lip over our current difficulties. Catalogues of victorious encounters build up strong continuous confidence in the ability of God in a Christian. May we all face our challenges with confidence in God for total victories in Jesus name. 

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