Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

Carl Pollard

Some people may not know this, but I’m not much of a runner. In fact, I’m not a runner at all, period. This is because my endurance is terrible. I once tried to go on a run to the kitchen, and I gave up right outside my door. Very much unlike me, Serge Girard, a French ultra runner, has run 14,031 miles in just under a year! To break that down, that’s 1,169 miles run in a month or 39 miles a day! This ultra runner has incredible endurance, and we could even say it’s almost superhuman. Serge Girard has amazing endurance, but it is nothing at all compared to the endurance of God.

Psalm 111 is a beautiful description of how God “Endures Forever.” I’d like to suggest that by reading this Psalm we see that the LORD endures forever. In this Psalm we see three aspects of the LORD’S endurance.

The Lord Has Endurance Through His Righteousness (vs. 3). The Psalmist sets the stage to this psalm by using the Hebrew word for “Hallelujah,” then says, “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart.” When the writer of this psalm says “with all my heart” this seems to imply he is coming with every intention of giving his all to the LORD.

Applying this to our ourselves, when we come together to worship God are we there with the full intentions to worship God? Or do we just put half-hearted effort into worship? Verse two says, “Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them.” If we as Christians truly delight in the Lord, then we should be studying the works of the God!

Verse three reveals the first quality of the Lord’s endurance. “Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.” As One who was unerringly faithful to His covenant with Israel, God constantly executes justice on behalf of His people. In the bringing of Israel out of Egypt, His works declare His righteousness. This impeccable character of His nature does not and will not ever change. Keeping this verse in mind when we are going through difficulties in our lives should cause great comfort. We know that the God who delivered Israel from slavery listens to us when we pray, and He is always there for us.

The Lord Has Endurance Through His Precepts (vs. 7-8). The writer says, “The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever; they are performed in truth and uprightness.” This word “precepts” literally means “things God has appointed.” Applying this to the time when this was written, this is talking about the Law given to Israel on Mount Sinai. But applying this to us as Christians today, God never wavers in His promises. He is unfailing just as He was when He wrote the Law on Mount Sinai. What we should focus on is this idea of “forever and ever.” It is hard for us as humans to put this into perspective because we can’t seem to wrap our heads around this idea of someone having no beginning or end. But that is how the Psalmist describes the precepts of the Lord. They will never fail.  As Christians we can take comfort in knowing that the God that we serve is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! We don’t have to worry that God will change His mind on how we get to Heaven or what is and what is not a sin. Unlike us imperfect humans, God will forever be the same.

The Lord Has Endurance Through His Praise (10). He says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.” The Lord not only deserves to be praised forever, but He receives it. Whether it’s from His creation, or through us, the Lord’s praise endures forever!

If we keep these aspects in mind as we go throughout our daily lives, we may realize that we aren’t always living the way we should. We must ask ourselves, “Are we praising God with our Lives?”