Antichrist • Devotion 5

Endurance in Adversity
Pastor Justin Dean

Soccer is a sport that I was never any good at. The best I could do was play goalie, and that is because I am big-boned enough to prove an opposing obstacle in the goal. The amount of running in that sport is astonishing. Distance running, sprints, stop and goes, and agility are required to even play, and let us just leave it at, “I did not have what it takes.” I never had the endurance required to keep up.

Truthfully, endurance is a necessary quality to have in many different facets of life. Endurance is more than just a physical quality, but is a quality that can be found in our emotional, vocational, and spiritual lives. In Revelation 13:8-10, John hones in on the latter, “And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.”

There will be many trying things that happen in the end times. Specifically, in chapter 13, we are dealing with the first and second beasts. We see that many will worship the first Beast, but those who have their names written in the Book of Life will instead have the endurance to make it through. Those who are truly saved will have endurance and will not be overcome by the pressure from those around them to worship something false.

In our world today, we are not pressured to worship a leopard with ten horns and seven heads rising from the sea but often times we are tempted to succumb to pressure from other things in our world. We are tempted to consume media like shows, movies, or music that we know contain things that are wrong in order to be current and relevant to the world around us. We make crude jokes because that is what the non-believers around us find funny. We try and blur the lines of sin and create grey areas because it is harder to live pure and set apart than it is to fit in with the world around us.

We have a powerful command in 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

Your life should look different after the start of your relationship with Jesus. If it does not, you may need to do some reflection on your personal holiness. We are called to live as people who are set apart, in big ways that may not involve the worship of a leopard with ten horns and seven heads, but in our everyday lives and decisions.

Has the media you consume (Movies, TV, Music) changed since becoming a believer?

Does your language, both in what you say (jokes and stories) and how you say it (cursing), look any different from the non-Christians in your life?

As your personal devotion time closes for the day, I want to encourage you to take time and pray that God would give you strength and endurance to not be worn down by the world around you. Pray to remain steadfast under the adversity brought about through your flesh and this fallen world.