Faithfulness and Perseverance Àpẹrẹ

THE LORD WANTS US TO PERSEVERE 

God wants us to persevere. The word "persevere" means enduring a difficult situation. The opposite of "persevering" is "discouraged." Perseverance is an essential characteristic of a mature Christian life. Without persistence, we will not achieve our goals.

Persistence also means resilience in action. This does not mean that we can just relax in soft chairs while waiting for God to do something. Persistence requires concrete action that is consistent and continuous. We can see a picture of that perseverance through the soldiers who are facing a war. They persist in facing any challenge. The ants persevere to transport food to the hiding hole. They work consistently for the purpose of gathering supplies for the colony, and the snails diligently walk across the high walls to reach a comfortable hiding place.

Persistence is different from patience. Persistence relates to situations, while patience deals with people. A person can endure a difficult situation but lose his temper with the friends he loves. Moses persevered in facing Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, but lost patience with the people he led (Numbers 20: 1-12). God could bring water out of the stone, but He cannot force Moses to be patient. Patience is related to self-control (Proverbs 25:28) while perseverance is related to one's resistance to a situation.

However, perseverance and patience must go hand in hand if we want to grow well spiritually. In other words, we must have perseverance and patience. Lord Jesus can restore Malchus' ears. What was done by Lord Jesus changed Peter's heart (Luke 22: 50-51). Lord Jesus diligently and patiently shaped Peter's heart. He did this until Peter was truly ready to change and be used in a mighty way. Likewise, Lord Jesus can perform a healing miracle for someone with cancer, if that is His will. However, God's greatest miracle for that person is not a complete recovery from the disease but his perseverance and patience in dealing with the disease.

The Lord wants us all to face everything with perseverance. Do everything diligently and we will succeed in the Lord. 

Today’s devotional 

1. In what ways are we impatient and diligent that we do not or cannot achieve the things that should become the goals in our lives?

2. How can we build perseverance and patience in our lives through the events of everyday life?

Today’s actions

Learn to be persistent and patient in the little things we do and keep on doing.