Make Every Effort: Peter's Fervent PleasЗагвар

Day 8: Perseverance: Refusing to Leave God’s Presence

With our self-control we need perseverance to continue forward in godliness. Perseverance, or endurance, does not mean sweaty effort, but rather continuing faithfully to stay in the presence of Jesus Christ under His protection regardless of what roadblocks rough up our path. We cannot give up when things get difficult, and we must always remember that the eternal, victorious life provided to us by Jesus Christ is such an amazing and wonderful gift–that the least we can do is to make every effort to continue in Him, because as Hebrews 3:14 tells us: “we must hold firm our confidence and commitment to the end.”

Our troubles, trials, and afflictions sometimes seem to be unending, and we wonder if it is worth it to keep trusting God when He doesn’t seem to answer or change our situation. But our short lives here, even if we live to be 100 years old, do not even compare to the unending length of eternity. Whatever we must put up with here is nothing compared to the glory and joy we will enjoy forever.

Our lives here on earth are really like a military training camp. Training is hard, and often pushes us to our limits. But that is what this life is–training for eternity. To be good ambassadors for our amazing God, we need to be well trained, and that takes time. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” And in Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Reflection: Look ahead with hope at the redemption and transformation of our bodies, that will happen in an instant when Jesus comes back for us. Oh, what a joy that will be–no more pain, suffering, misery, or heartache! God, help us to be steadfast in perseverance as we endure the long and difficult seasons of life.