Do you ever feel like perseverance is a bad word?

Or at least a word we don’t really want to have to deal with? When the walls seem to be closing in and the roof feels like it is about to fall down…perseverance is needed. When you find yourself frustrated with the daily responsibilities of home, work, and family, a little shot of perseverance goes a long way!

Learning to be faithful with the daily responsibilities trains us to be faithful with larger tasks. In this process, perseverance enables us to stick with it, to keep on keepin’ on.

We need this when…

we can’t take one more bad attitude.

there is a mess in the freezer.

the whole house is a disaster zone.

a ball point pen explodes in the dryer…

there is no end in sight to the moving boxes…

These are just a few of the minor aggravations that call for perseverance. Sometimes these are small things and sometimes they are huge, but daily faithfulness helps us keep on keepin’ on!

Here are some areas that have called for perseverance in my life.

Maybe you can relate:

When no one is listening, talk to God anyway.
When you are standing in the rubble pile of your own doing, believe Him anyway.
When those around you are unappreciative, serve them anyway.
When nobody seems to care, bless them anyway.
When people you love are acting unlovely, love them anyway.
When you are confused and cannot tell which way is up, seek God anyway.
When there seems to be no answer, ask Him anyway.
When you have confessed the same sin over and over, confess it again anyway.
When you struggle to have hope, cling to Christ anyway.
When your plan isn’t working, trust Him anyway.
When you are weary, rest in Him anyway.
When relationships seem to be a battle, fight the good fight anyway.

For me, these are some of the ways that God is teaching me to press on, to strive for faithfulness in the daily challenges.

Somehow we fight against the very tools that our Sovereign God often brings into our lives to build in us what is pleasing to Him. How could things be different, or at least less stressful, if we learn not to fight against God’s hand when He chooses to use trials to shape us? Like it or not, perseverance and endurance are some of God’s most powerful, yet difficult tools for molding faith and character. Hard words. True words.

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. ” (The Message)

James 1:2-4

What things in your life call for perseverance?

7 Comments

Lesley on March 1, 2013 at 6:15 am

Thanks, Ginger. Encouraging as ever.
- Ginger Harrington on March 4, 2013 at 10:28 am
  
  I really appreciate they way you comment so often!! Hope to meet you in person someday:)
Shannon on March 1, 2013 at 7:05 am

Thank you Ginger for sharing your heart here! Brad and I are going through a season of much testing and we aren’t done yet for a few months. It’s been hard, and I needed this encouragement as the testing isn’t over yet….
- Ginger Harrington on March 4, 2013 at 10:28 am
  
  I will be praying for you!! Testing times are never much fun. Make the most of the good things in life and hang onto trust for all your worth!! Hug your baby for me!!
Cheryl Niehoff on March 1, 2013 at 8:15 am

Thank you for a very timely blog. Nice to know God’s always there when we find ourselves in the trenches.
Marney McNall on March 11, 2013 at 10:48 am

Perseverance is such a difficult thing to learn, but so valuable that God repeatedly allows us to find ourselves in situations that require it.
- Ginger Harrington on March 17, 2013 at 6:15 pm
  
  Great point! Thanks so much for chiming in:)