As we persevere, we are contributing greatly to our development of spiritual
maturity. Yet, as we are hurting and facing trials our endurance can slip, most likely
because we take our eyes off the Lord and put them on the problems. In describing a
coming persecution, Luke 21:19, reminds us, ‘By your perseverance you will secure
your lives.”
Many years ago, writing my college essay, I used the movie “The Unsinkable
Molly Brown” to describe my fortitude and perseverance and these attributes remain
with me. I believe with God’s grace; we need to keep on keeping on, though some days
are harder than others. Life is nothing if not complicated. Absorbing ourselves in God’s
word, will lead to blessing in all we do. Filling ourselves with Scripture first will enable us
to view through hopeful eyes.
We take encouragement and consolation from Into the Mess, by Debbie Thomas,
chapter on when you pray, “God will never fail to give us God’s own, abundant,
indwelling and overflowing self as the answer we actually need. When we contend in
prayer, God will not withhold God’s loving, consoling, healing, transforming and
empowering Spirit from us. When it comes to no-holds-barred, absolutely self-giving
generosity, God’s answer to all of our prayers will be yes.”
We are now in the season of Lent and certainly this calls for perseverance. As
we embrace our cross, we are doing things that can be hard and uncomfortable.
Training ourselves to choose difficult paths reaps a multitude of benefits. Some of you
know in February I had knee replacement surgery and continue to hurt and heal. When
we give more than is comfortable for us, we grow in trust. Each day we have an
opportunity to bear our cross. The Lord sees our desires and efforts and promises to
reward our choices to love, to give, to pick up the cross and trust the Lord one day at a
time.
Our ability to persevere, keep on keeping on, as we overcome obstacles with
grace and humility may be quietly inspiring someone else to turn to the Lord. Your
example of prayerful faith might be gradually softening a resistant heart. God sees our
devotion and efforts and rejoices in it. We pray for the perseverance and endurance
God gave the prophets that went before us to have a fruitful Lent and as we try, we are
succeeding. May God’s love hold, carry and enable us to persevere as best we can,
during Lent and beyond!
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