I often wonder how some people persevere to accomplish great feats or accomplish goals that seem higher than I could ever achieve- like back-country skiing up Mount Rainier or inventing something that I marvel at, or the more common things in life, like the ability to be truly content with daily tasks, jobs, and everyday life or raising a family or caring for the elderly.
Recently I read a Bible verse that encouraged me in the midst of a low time:
"Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Is 46:4
What can give us faith to persevere?
Recently I read a Bible verse that encouraged me in the midst of a low time:
"Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Is 46:4
What can give us faith to persevere?
The Faith to Persevere
Because you have kept My command to persevere . . .
—Revelation 3:10
Perseverance
means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A
saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an
archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues
to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, "I can’t
take any more." Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His
purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s
hands. Is there something in your life for
which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate
relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as
Job did, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" ( Job 13:15 ).
Faith
is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is
strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love.
And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is
doing, you know Him.
Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from
establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the
supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total
confidence upon God.
God
ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our
all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where
that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of
God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to
be none in ours. Jesus prayed, "This is eternal life, that they may know
You . . ." ( John 17:3 ). The real meaning of eternal
life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we
will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity
of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into
this central place of power.
I read a quote that Joshua L. Chamberlain wrote in a letter to his mother that gave me hope.
"I believe in a destiny- one, i mean, divinely appointed, and to which we are carried forward by a perfect trust in God.
So we continue on and set our sights on the path ahead and the next challenge that may confront us, without wavering, knowing that we will persevere and endure to the end.
" But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) NIV
"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair;
We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) AMP
" But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) NIV
"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair;
We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) AMP
