Hanukkah starts tomorrow! I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah. May you find joy in God's love and faithfulness this season!
Most often, other people have much better things to say than I do. I have recently finished reading one of the best and most valuable books I have ever read, besides the Bible. Here is a short excerpt from Sharper Strokes, by Harold Bullock, that I personally found encouraging and uplifting. May it also inspire you with hope, joy, and courage:
"This cheerful, hopeful, steadfastness turns out to be the key to Christian maturity. "Hupomone" ... is a Greek noun .. translated, "endure." Hupomone, "staying under power," is translated "patience" or "perseverance." In the NT, it is characteristic of a person who has not deviated from his chosen purpose, his trust in Christ, and commitment to a holy walk even though he has gone through the greatest trials and sufferings. James encourages us to rejoice when problems come.
Why rejoice? James says that when we have to go through trials that challenge our faith, we develop "Perseverance" (hupomone). Extended hupomone generates full Christian maturity. In time, it produces a full and rich Christian character (Jas. 1:2-4). ... hupomone produces "tested and tried character," that is, godly character that has set deeply into us. Further, that kind of character produces hope, a confident, expectant outlook on life, knowing the certainty of the goodness of God and of our ultimate salvation
. . . Overtime, the "endurance training" has effect. The character of Christ sets deeply in us and shapes in us a joyful, confident outlook on life."- Harold Bullock.
"This side of heaven, those who endure (calmly and bravely bear up under) difficulty will find the compassion and mercy of the Lord at the end of the testing times - just as Job was incredibly blessed at the end of his endurance (Jas. 5:11; Job 42:10-17)" - Harold Bullock.
