Happy Monday!
I was struggling with todays post. There has been a lot going on recently and nothing was feeling right. After praying about it, the word perseverance came to mind and stayed there. When I think of perseverance, I always think of Paul. I pray I never have to find out if my perseverance is as strong as his, but it brought me to the following devotion.
Now and then, I get this silly notion that my life is complicated. All I have to do to open my eyes is look around me to see how very blessed I am. I believe that’s why I was given the word perseverance. My job for this season is to persevere.
Each one of us is surrounded by life. That may include health issues for ourselves or loved ones, the loss of someone we love or, for some, it may include marital issues, emotional or mental issues or maybe just too much world and not enough Jesus.
When it gets right down to it, what are we going to do with our situations? We can lay down and let them totally overwhelm us, and I am NOT saying that hasn’t been tempting sometimes. Where will it get you though?
We can jump right down in the middle of it and try to handle it all on our own. After all, we know how mighty we are, right?
OR… we can lay it at the feet of Jesus and persevere, knowing He is fully able to handle whatever the situation is.
I can do this. I can do this because Jesus is right there with me and He will give me the strength I need. And in those moments when I falter, He always seems to send someone to be whatever I need at that particular time. God is good!
Pray Unceasingly!!
In His light,
Lois
Why Perseverance Matters
Read: Hebrews 3:1-6
God is the builder of everything in our lives. He establishes the foundation of what we go through and allows us to be a part by serving Him. We have the privilege of being able to be servants in God’s house, which is the church. Serving out of love for God and others, not out of guilt or fear, is what He built His house upon. One of the greatest characteristics of serving Him is the ability to persevere through every struggle we face.
Jesus uses our struggles as a way to develop our relationship with Him (1 Peter 1:6-9). Just as storms point out the weak and strong parts of our house, struggles point out the weak and strong parts of our faith. Jesus built a strong house with us as the members, and we can remain faithful to serving Him because he remains faithful to helping us.
True commitment to Jesus is demonstrated through persevering over the long term, not just the short term. In Hebrews 3:6 we see that we must maintain our hope in Jesus and hold firmly to the confidence that He will do what He says He is going to do. No matter what, every situation has an opportunity for perseverance that builds trust to keep going and hold firmly.
God has given us the ability to persevere by responding to struggles with the confidence that He knows, plans and directs our lives for the good. We may face struggles while serving Him, but when we trust Him through those struggles, we can claim victory through perseverance.