On Omer Count – Day 23 we are considering Gevurah of Netzach; or the justice and discipline of endurance in expressed actions and emotions.
KEEPING ENDURANCE EFFECTIVE
Endurance must be directed toward productive goals if it is to be effective. Also, endurance should always be expressed in a constructive manner. This transpires through how we carry out our day-to-day habits. To see how an apostle named Luke did this, you might enjoy reading about a movie production from a previous post: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/paul-apostle-of-christ-movie-review/.
QUESTIONS:
Are our habits good?
Do we have bad habits that should be broken?
Where does my endurance come from – is it from strength or is it from weakness?
Could I be stubborn with my endurance?
Am I constantly on the defense?
Do I find myself unwilling to accept constructive criticism?
Are there times when I lack determination to see my endurance through to the end?
PSALM 121 FOR INCREASING STRENGTH
When I think of breaking bad habits; I realize that most bad habits show a lack of strength. In those times when I need more strength to carry my determination through to the end I try to remember Psalm 121:
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
USING PROPER DISCERNMENT
One aspect of gevurah is that aspect of discernment. We must discern whether or not our determination to do something is positive or negative. Humans tend to carry the negative traits of some habits too far.
There is a biblical example of this in the story of the Scribes and Pharisees. We read of this in Matthew 23:27: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
These men had not discerned that the negative habits of their spiritual lives had become unbalanced. They were only paying attention to their outward appearances. The souls of these men were terribly neglected.
Their discipline and endurance was only applied to the outside layer, the part of them that others could see. The inside of their souls and spirits were severely lacking of God’s strength and wholeness.
SEEING THROUGH THE EYES OF JESUS
Jesus could look deep into their souls.
He knew that on the inside (in their hearts and minds) they were not clean at all. He cautioned them to get some balance.
Our Savior could easily recognize God’s heart for justice, mercy and faithfulness, and these good habits could not be found within their hearts. On the outside they appeared to be so righteous; but on the inside they had lives full of greed, self indulgence, hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Another good question for today would be to ask ourselves if we are guarding ourselves from fake outward actions which hide or cover up the negative inward actions of our spirit.
Are we hypocritical in any of our righteous behaviors?
PUTTING ACTION TO OUR THOUGHTS
Repentance and turning are all it takes to get ourselves back into balance.
Facing reality is the first step.
Asking God for strength and endurance toward true righteousness is the next move that we could find helpful. A good friend just recently pointed out to many of us that this is called “overcoming.” Jesus has promised much to those who learn to overcome the world.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)
The following link does an excellent job of explaining the value of the above scripture: https://activechristianity.org/7-extraordinary-promises-for-those-who-overcome. This link is very descriptive and true and well worth your time to read.
Learning true discernment can produce amazing results in our lives and the way we share our lives with others.