I graduated college with a degree in English, but I am not big on fancy words. Persevere seems pretty big and fancy to me. I strive to live and speak and write simply. So let me put this message in simple terms. This message is about persevering when you are tempted to give up. Specifically about continuing with what God has called you to do when your flesh wants to call it quits. And this is how God brought this message to mind.
I was feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere with my writing. Not like I was stuck. I was writing plenty of words. Just not getting where I felt God wanted me to go. In the past I would have kept pushing and pushing until I got so frustrated and discouraged I would walk away exhausted, upset, and believing I would never get anywhere so I might as well figure out something else to do. This time, I took my sweet special needs ministry dogs for a walk, did some beach ministry, came back refreshed, and was pleasantly surprised when God put a word on my heart.
PERSEVERE. In other words, don’t quit. Carry on! I felt rejuvenated and encouraged to continue on. And guess what I ended up writing unexpectedly. A message I had never intended to write. This very message!
If God has given you something to do, please persevere. When you humble yourself before Him, and choose to obey Him, and turn to Him, He will give you all you need – to persevere!
Cry out to God to enable you to keep going forward with His will – and please persevere!
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 NKJV
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 NKJV