Perseverance

Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to listen to a message on perseverance and I have been reflecting on it the past couple days. On of the major points of the message was that perseverance is something that is lacking in our society today. We now live in a world were so many things can be obtained with so little effort that we can begin to believe that everything should be that way. However, this mindset can be misleading and also damaging to a relationship with Christ. I often find myself wishing that I could instantly jump into a stronger relationship with Christ and skip all of the work that is required to get there but this is not how the Christian life works. It is a life that requires a steady persistence in growing closer to Christ.

An example that I can relate this concept to in my life has to do with working out. If you ever go into a gym in January it will most likely be packed with all the people who have decided that this is the year they will lose weight. However, after a couple days or maybe a couple weeks you will never see these people again (well at least for another year). Why? The answer is most likely that they did not have perseverance. When results did not show up instantly they got discouraged and gave up, which is the opposite of what it says in the definition of perseverance. There are things in life like working out where the results are NOT going to show up instantly. I am almost done with a workout program called P90X and there were multiple times that I got discouraged and wanted to give up when the results were not showing up instantly. However, over time it got easier and easier and the results kept getting better and better. It is that persistence to stay on course through all the trials that will lead to the most growth.

So what does this mean for our Christian life. The Bible makes it clear that it is not going to be easy. Paul writes to Timothy, "But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." Paul tells him to join him in the SUFFERING. He says right there that you will have hardships and trials in your walk with God. The important thing is how we react to these obstacles. Do we give up the minute something becomes difficult or uncomfortable or do we push through with a steady persistence in spite it. The greatest results will come to those who choose to persist.

An example in the Bible that relates to this topic is found in the book of Nehemiah. In the book, Nehemiah travels back to Jerusalem to lead the people in the rebuilding of the wall around the city. It starts out well but opposition quickly arises. There are people in the area who will do anything to prevent the wall from being rebuilt. They attempt to discourage the people at first and eventually attack them to stop them from building. But this does not stop the people from building. They continue building with a sword in one hand to protect themselves while working with the other and their persistence pays off. They finish the wall despite all the obstacles that were in their way. This story gives me a lot of encouragement in my life today. The people in this story could have been killed any day but they did not let that affect them. They kept building and got the results they wanted. When I look at what these people had to overcome to achieve success it makes the obstacles that I have in my life look a lot less threatening and gives me encouragement to follow their example of perseverance.