No instant escape

"We, too, may bring any difficult situation to our heavenly Father, laying it before his eyes, and asking not for instant escape but for "enablement"--for strength to sustain the burden and do what we ought to do without the fear of man."
~ Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp for My Feet

I have totally been at the Throne begging for "instant escape". I vacillate between begging for endurance and begging for deliverance. I need to become more consistent in asking "Thy will be done" (Mt. 6:10). I need to ask for strength and courage and stamina, not relief or liberation from the test.

I could wallow, singing the songs of the world...
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
(Kansas, Dust in the Wind)

Instead, I sing with the saints of old...
Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
~ His Eye is on the Sparrow