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S. A. J. Lyttek, a multiple award-winning writer, always loved writing, but didn’t arrive at the profession in the typical manner. After college and graduate school, she plunged into government consulting. In this environment, she discovered a knack for writing tests, interviews and other measurements. That soon became the focus of her career—reigniting her love for the written word. Thus captivated, she spent evenings freelancing “fun” writing including short stories, poems, articles and cards. When her eldest was a toddler, she quit full-time work to stay home and write. Eager to spend more time with her children, homeschooling intrigued her. From preschool through high school, she homeschooled both sons while continuing to freelance. While an integral part of the homeschooling community, she developed and taught writing classes to a generation of homeschoolers. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Gary, Mrs. Lyttek loves to share her commitment to learners of all ages and her fascination with the written word.
Because of the 250th anniversary of the United States this coming weekend, and because many people I love are going through seasons of difficulty whether it be career, personal, spiritual, emotional or a combination thereof, I have been thinking about what it means to endure.
No matter what you think about the United States today, if you look back at the men and women who risked everything to establish the country, you see endurance. The fact that George Washington had any army to speak of after Valley Forge shows endurance and faith—faith that something better could come of all this hardship. The hunger and the cold would be worth something or why persevere? Why would men suffering deprivation and frostbite, not to mention the uncertainty of a future paycheck, stick around if they didn’t believe in the cause of freedom? For that matter, why would Washington stay with his troops when he could ride for the warm fires of Mount Vernon? They had faith that enduring embodied the hope of a greater prize.
Even before that cold winter, many of the colonial leaders knew that signing their name to the Declaration of Independence would endanger their estates and livelihood. Some of the men did lose, if not everything, substantially by taking the side of the colonies. It would’ve been easier to go along, to pay the taxes and be good little British citizens. But these men were learned. They looked at the Magna Carta and said we have worth and because of that worth, we should have the right to say how we will live.
Many of them were Christians. Those who weren’t, knew the examples of Scripture. They would have known that “endure” is one of the apostle Paul’s favorite words.
In part, because Paul endured. While all the apostles were persecuted to one degree or another, Paul, perhaps because of his heritage as part of the leading governance of the Jews, seemed to have been singled out to a greater degree. In a few passages he lists the beatings he received, the murder and execution attempts he survived, and then all the natural disasters he encountered with their own pains. He endured much.
But like the U.S. founding fathers much later, Paul had his eyes on something other than his endurance. He called on Timothy to endure. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5, NIV He reminded the Corinthian church not to succumb to temptation, but to persevere, looking toward Jesus. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 And later he told them about an incident that he and his fellow missionaries barely survived. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9
Finally, in that last verse, we get the clue to Paul’s enduring. But he told his fledgling church that when all hope appears to be gone, you endure because God gives you the strength. You endure because God lights your way.
Enduring is rarely pleasant. It is life that simply takes the next step. It opens its eyes, looks to God, and begs for guidance and mercy.
In the early days of the Revolutionary War, there was a lot of life like that. But, and this is key, there were enough praying Christians to uphold those who were enduring. There were enough who looked to God and to providence and begged for guidance and mercy.
Today, I pray for all my friends and family who endure in this moment. May God guide them and be merciful to them. But I also praise God for His intervention in the history of mankind and how He walks with those who endure.
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