Endurance...Perseverance...What's the difference?

Everybody uses perseverance and endurance interchangeably. But after writing about perseverance yesterday I began to wonder, “What is the actual difference between the two.” According to Dictionary.com, perseverance is defined as continuance till the end. And endurance is defined as using strength to continue despite pain and fatigue. The difference between the two is that persistence is remaining steady in hopes to finish while endurance is bearing pain so that you can finish. Endurance is different than persistence because you have to conquer pain to endure.

Endurance is closely related to trials because to conquer trials you must endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” When you are faced with trials, you must remember to endure. God understands that this will not be easy so he will always provide you with a way of escape. But God not only wants us to endure our trials but he also wants us to rejoice in them. Romans 5:3-4 says “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Hope is essential to us, without hope we have no need for a savior, and thus no need for God. The Bible tells us that one of the only ways to produce hope is by enduring.

Enduring is difficult. But God doesn’t want us to give up. He understands that you may fail, but he still asks us to run the race as best as we can. When we run, we must remember that we are not running alone. Deuteronomy 31:6 says “the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” God is always at our side. He is constantly there holding our hands and protecting us wherever we go, even when we feel like he has abandoned us. When we stumble, like everyone does, God just asks that we take his hand, so that he can pick us back up. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must endure through even the most difficult of trials, despite how hard it will be to do so.