Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
REVELATION 2:2-3
I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary.
John has several complimentary things to convey to the church at Ephesus. They were industrious, working hard and toiling, despite suffering, which they endured heroically. The word here for patience, hupomone, means glorious, gallant, courageous endurance.
These words were a reminder that Christian identity may be difficult and require the old-fashioned virtues of determination and strenuous effort in the face of opposition. Ephesus had its temples to power and success and also to pleasure and self-indulgence, as do we. The Ephesian Christians could set a course and keep it, despite the temptations and pressures of their city and despite the internal threat of false apostles and “Nicolaitans.”
PRAYER
Gracious God, save us from vacillations and uncertainty, from influences that distract and dissuade. Reinforce in us the virtues of the Ephesian church and grant us an endurance that is glorious and courageous. We ask in the name of Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith. Amen.
