Learning to endure to the end can be a challenge! I really love the life lesson/metaphor Dionna shared that taught her more about the eternal principle of enduring to the end.
How to Endure to the End | Dionna Chiarolanza
Before I give you the answer to that prompt, I’d like to start with a little parable. And this parable begins with a confession. I am a speeder. I wouldn’t say I’m a speed demon—but I do pride myself on shaving off a few minutes of an estimated time of arrival.
Knowing this about me, you can guess how we were moving on our way from Caldwell, Idaho, to Reno, Nevada, last Saturday. I always put my cruise control on between 5-9 miles over on long drives like this. We went to Idaho to visit family and enjoy Payette Lake before Kindergarten started. It was just me and the three kids doing a 6-hour drive.
During the last stretch back home I switched my screen to look at the mileage we were getting. It was the best gas mileage I’d gotten the whole trip over and back thus far. In my mind, I thought how grateful I was that God would grant me some good gas mileage for this trip back. I checked the map’s ETA and how many miles were left and I had plenty of gas to reach Fernley (which is where I planned to fill up since it is so much cheaper than in Reno).
A few blinks later I noticed that my miles per gallon began going down a few points. I think I was about an hour and a half away from Fernley when I saw it go down. This meant that the gas I had in the tank wouldn’t take me as far as it would before. I’m not a car expert but I guess it’s because it takes more gas to keep going in the manner that I was going. I’m not sure why I made it to such high gas mileage only to have it start going down but every few minutes it would drop another point or two.
I kept checking between my gas mileage and the miles left on my maps on my phone. It was getting to the point where I knew that if I kept going as I was going I might not make it to Fernley! I had to make a decision about how to make it easier for my car to get it done. I realized that I needed to slow down to make it work. It hurt my pride a little bit to realize that I needed to make that kind of sacrifice. I had three kids in the car. All of us were tired and just needed to be home.
It was a hard decision to slow down but as I ticked the cruise control down about 5mph, I saw the gas mileage maintain its level. I ticked the cruise control down a little more and eventually saw the gas mileage slowly go up. Eventually, I realized I was going a little under the speed limit! Ha! Heaven Forbid.
Ladies and Gentlemen, according to my calculations I arrived in Fernley with about 19 miles of gas left in my tank! (Luckily, my husband wasn’t in the car with me, or he’d have freaked about me getting so close to empty.) I went from having sooo much extra gas to being so close to empty. But we made it to my intended destination.
Relating This Parable to Life
This life is all about those bumps in the road. Like I found out on my drive back from Idaho, God won’t always provide us with a smooth, level journey where our own gas mileage exceeds the length of our journey. Trials, struggles, and afflictions will come. How can we move forward amidst these inevitable challenges? How do we keep the faith? How do we abide in Christ when challenges arise? How do we endure to the final end?
1. We watch the mileage/ listen to the Holy Ghost and to prophets.
In 2 Timothy 4:3-5, Paul writes
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers… and they shall turn away their ears from the truth…but watch thou in all things, endure afflictions…
We are so blessed to live in a time when prophets of the Lord provide us with so much counsel and guidance. Are we willing to listen? Do we watch for their word? Or are we among those that cannot endure sound doctrine as Paul spoke of. Is speed (or our own lusts/desires) our end goal? If they are, when revelation and sound doctrine come we won’t care to heed it.
2. We decide to Sacrifice & humble ourselves/make and keep sacred covenants.
Mosiah 4:11 talks of this humility and the blessings promised:
And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have of his love, and have received a of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own , and his and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of , on the name of the Lord daily, and standing in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
What does that look like in our lives? Letting go of our own will. Making the decision to Sacrifice our worldly desires for the greater things of God. That we may come to know Him.
3. We adjust our speed/Repent daily.
Moroni 8:26 says
And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.
Look at all the tools that repentance and the remission of sins provide us. They boosts our spiritual mileage. They allow visitation of the Holy Ghost which provides comfort to soothe and strengthen us during times of struggle. But most of all they fill us with Christlike love which endureth forever. Think of such enduring love in your life! It is promised as we diligently pray and seek Him through daily repentance.
This life is a time for us all to prepare. It comes with many struggles and challenges, but if we listen, humble ourselves, and repent daily, we can receive the enduring love of Christ. Spiritual mileage will be added. Strength and endurance will replace our own human weakness.
There is so much metaphor involved in sharing faith. Sometimes these things seem too much like a nice cute story. But I want to testify of these truths and I’d like to challenge us all to pray for the faith to believe in these promises, to pray for forgiveness, to pray for a renewed commitment of our covenants. There are more blessings than we can possibly imagine. Let us start today to seek these amazing blessings that we may endure to the end.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In