Endurance and Persuasion

The ex-world champion heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali was quoted as saying the following:
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”

People are often defined by what they do for a living or what they are good at. When we think of Muhammad Ali we think “a boxer”. When we think of Pablo Picasso we think “a painter”.

It is hupomonē (G5281), God's endurance, which plays a vital role in defining who you are, because it is all part of being able to pursue the dream God has placed in your heart. In order for the vision of God’s destiny to be something viable to you, there has to be some aspect of endurance and constancy, something that drives, motivates and compels you to do what you do.

Who we are is also determined by what we believe and with what strength of conviction we believe it. It is for this reason that pistis (G4102), being the God-kind of faith and conviction, works together with hupomonē (G5281), the God-kind of endurance, in defining our character.

Without conviction, a person will be weak in character, not knowing what is right and wrong in general and also not knowing what is right and wrong for him personally.

It is possible to have all kinds of aspirations in the mind, but it is the conviction of the heart that is the most important because that is what motivates us to action. This conviction comes from God and, just like with endurance, is an important aspect of our ability to be led by the Holy Spirit.

It is strength of conviction that enables us to make the right choices in life and to have the power to say “no” to those things which play no part in our lives. If we do not really know who we are and what role we are to play in life, we end-up allowing other people to formulate opinions about us, give us advice and generally pigeon-hole us.

Without conviction of who we really are and what is right for us personally, a vacuum forms in our character which we allow other people to fill with their own ideas of what is good for us and what is not.

But it is not good enough to simply have a conviction of who you are and the role you are to play in life, unless there is also something that compels you on a consistent basis to do the things that give substance to that conviction. This is where endurance or constancy plays a part.