Lord, Help Me Endure

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End” is a prayer song inspired by a scripture verse that Jesus spoke to His disciples when He was talking to them about prophetic events of the dark last days.

Jesus said, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:13 KJV

What does the word Jesus used for endure mean?

ὑπομένω hupomenō~~Thayer Definition:

1) to remain, 1a) to tarry behind, 2) to remain, i.e. abide, not recede or flee,

2a) to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ

2b) to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

This verse with its word meaning has spoken volumes to me as I have studied and meditated over them.

I’m so thankful the Lord gave me this prayer song to encourage me to meditate on this verse as I seek Him in prayer and in His Word, especially now.

No stranger to affliction being a sufferer of chronic daily migraines and fibromyalgia, I was painting to distract myself from pain early one morning last month.

Mark reminded me of an appointment I had to get ready for so I got in a rush to print my painting and get ready for the day.

Alas, as I rounded the corner of my bed I tripped and fell backwards landing on my left side and crashed onto the hardwood floor.

Horrified, I saw my left arm detached from my body. In excruciating pain, I thought my hip and neck were broken, as they were hurting as much as my arm and shoulder, also I could not move. Talk about screaming. My beloved Mark was by my side in a second.

I had to be taken to the hospital where they did imaging. Not only did I have bruises all over the left part of my body, but the X-Rays and scans revealed that I’d severely fractured my left humerus. Thank the Lord I had broken nothing else. I returned home with my left arm in a heavy splint and sling. It was so heavy in fact, I could barely walk. The pain was unbearable. I learned how disabled one is made by such a severe injury.

At first I just felt manacled by that awful splint and was sent into panic mode in certain positions. I was in more pain than I’d ever been in my life and I begged God to take me to Heaven. He kept saying nope. Not only did I find the pain beyond my endurance, I couldn’t tolerate being so helpless and dependent on others for assistance in EVERYTHING.

The Lord said, “ENDURE.”

Hadn’t I suffered enough, I asked.

The Lord was not going to let me off the hook.

He reminded me of the prayer song He had given me, “Lord Help Me Endure To The End.”

He reminded me of the other prayer song with lyrics He had given me on my most recent release Paths of Faith, “I Will Lay Down My Life.”

Migraines flared up the agony in my fractured arm even more. The wretched splint caused huge tormenting tension knots in my back and neck. I could not get comfortable nor sleep in my bed but had to sleep in Mark’s recliner.

Despite my misery, the Lord showered me with rivers of His measureless mercy. He sent wonderful home healthcare people to assist me. They always ended up telling me about folks who were far worse off than I was and this would somehow comfort me because I not only then felt I was not alone in my pain, it motivated me to pray for people who suffered as I did.

Prayer was the only way I could lay my life down in love for others because of my disability, while others were laying their lives down in love for me. The Lord always sent me people with the most cheerful attitudes. They somehow could make me laugh despite my intense pain.

Our son flew home from LA to help my husband with my care.

Our daughter being tied up with myriad issues in Tucson did many wonderful things for us that we needed assistance with by ordering things we required and had them sent to us.

We were surrounded by love. God showed His mercy and faithfulness in so many ways that helped me to hang on when I thought I could not endure another moment of pain. Many from our church sent beautiful cards and prayers while our friend Sharon came and stayed with me twice so Mark could run some necessary errands.

Our Pastor came over and anointed me with oil and prayed for my healing. All of these beautiful expressions of God’s love comforted me, reminding me that our Heavenly Father still loved me despite my suffering.

One night after I finally fell asleep exhausted from the pain, I dreamed that the Lord Jesus Christ came down from Heaven and into my living room. He stood by the recliner where I lay sleeping and He checked on my arm as if He were a doctor checking on my progress. I dreamed this two nights in a row. I woke up very comforted both times, assured of His love for me.

But on days when the hours stretched by and my pain level stayed at a ten I became depressed and wept, praying for God’s mercy and repenting for everything I could think of that might have upset the Lord. For when we go through serial trials we can’t help but look up and ask the Lord, “What did I do wrong?”

Whenever I ask the Lord questions like that He refers me to His Word. From the Epistle of James: “My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you. God wants to see if you really trust Him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles. So you should continue to trust God all the time. Then you will become stronger as a Christian. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more.” James 1:2-4 (*Easy English Bible)

The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to comfort me and assure me that God is using my trials to enlarge my faith.

We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is so good to us. As our Father, He is very kind to us. He is our God who comforts us in every way. Whenever we have trouble, He comforts us. Because of that, we ourselves can comfort other people. When they have any kind of trouble, we can comfort them, in the same way that God has comforted us. Christ himself received much pain, and God comforted Him. As Christ’s servants, we also receive the same kind of pain. But, God also comforts us very much, because we belong to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 *(Easy English Bible)

Peter the Apostle wrote that we should expect to have suffering and trials as Christians.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 KJV

Peter asserted that suffering and pain motivate the Christian to do God’s will instead of their own will, even as Christ did His Father’s will on earth.

“Christ had trouble and pain while He lived in His human body. So you should prepare yourselves to have trouble and pain too. Think about it in the same way that Christ did. If someone has trouble and pain in his body, he stops doing wrong things. As a result, that person will want to do what God wants him to do. In his life in this world, he will not want to do the bad things that people think are good.” 1 Peter 4:1-2 (*Easy English Bible)

That is why we never give up.

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.

For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT (*New Living Translation)

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End”~ Midnight Prayers and Meditations Volume II, © ℗ 2021, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End”~ Peaceangel Song, Copyright © 2022, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.

Scripture Quotations from the King James Version Bible Translation, the Easy English Bible, The New Living Bible Translation, All of which are copyrighted by their various publishers.

*Created through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God The Father, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.