Endurance: When Faith Carries the Weight

BLXCR Editorial Note Sister Anne Gwen Mack’s reflection on endurance speaks directly to the moment we are living in. In a time marked by burnout, spiritual fatigue, and toxic environments, her testimony reminds us that endurance is not weakness—it is preparation.

This message reframes pain as purpose, rest as strategy, and walking away from harm as obedience. It affirms that scars can exist alongside strength and that clarity often comes after the pressure.

For anyone still carrying their boulder: you are not alone, you are not forgotten, and you are not finished. Endurance still wins.

Contributor Writer Sister Anne Gwen Mack

ENDURANCE: Victory Under Pressure

By Sister Anne Gwen Mack

“For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.”—Hebrews 10:36

While researching the word endurance, I came across several definitions. Yet none resonated with my soul as deeply as this one: the strength to suffer and carry a burden for as long as it takes to fulfill an assignment or purpose in accordance with the will of God. Endurance, in its truest form, is victory under pressure.

As I once shared in a previous conversation, I am still learning how to fully embrace—and move beyond—some deeply painful experiences encountered during my spiritual growth. After retiring from a negative work environment that grew increasingly toxic over the course of 15 years, I knew healing would not be instant. Detoxing from prolonged emotional and spiritual stress takes time.

Imagine the weight of an oversized boulder resting on your chest—constant, heavy, unrelenting. That is what it felt like. Like being trapped in an abusive marriage, yet remaining determined to stay on course because I believed God required it of me.

Today, I find myself in a new season of life. I am no longer responsible for anyone but myself. I have the freedom to follow God without distraction—free to come and go, free from time restraints, free from oppressive authority figures who once sought to control or diminish me because of who I represented and what I carried. Still, the journey was not without struggle.

I battled with myself and with others—family, friends, and foes alike—while reluctantly pressing forward, hump after hump, trial after trial. Reluctant not because I lacked faith, but because the pain intensified with each experience. I worried about my ability to protect my heart and keep darkness at bay. Yet through it all, I was being tested, tried, and confirmed. I was being trained for the long haul.

I learned how to say no—to anything and anyone not aligned with God’s plan for my life. I took blow after blow, yet I was being conditioned to withstand, to discern, and to pull away from relationships that overshadowed my peace and delayed my healing.

With endurance comes sacrifice . With sacrifice comes wisdom—if you are willing to stand still long enough to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit. And with that guidance comes peace, even in the midst of pain.

Although I am still pained by what I endured, I am now learning to recognize the beauty in the suffering. The beauty of knowing I was chosen from conception—created, handpicked, and assigned by God. The beauty of realizing I was equipped with the ability to endure, to shift under pressure, and to remain on target even with a boulder on my back. Who knew? God knew.

He knew it would not be easy. He also knew I would not give up or give in—though I wanted to many times. He knew I would learn the necessity of knowing when to stop, when to retreat, and when to begin again. Much like learning when it is time to rest.

God knew I would see it through to the end—even if I complained and whined along the way.

So now is not the time to bury my head in the sand. Now is the time to lick my wounds, admire my battle scars—not with ego, but with gratitude—and take a bow.

Not because I did it alone, but because God was with me at every step, building trust through every turn.

There is still much to do. It is time to keep moving.

I am a child of the Most High God, and I am ready to continue serving Him passionately—with clarity, conviction, and many testimonies of truth under my belt.

It’s me and God all the way.

Amen.

I thank God for the clarity and revelation He has given me through this writing. I’m pulling up my big girl strength . No more back and forth. I’m shaking the dust off my feet .

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

References:

Psalm 46:10Matthew

10:14Philippians 4:7, 13