The Power of Perseverance

by David Gibson

Bois d’Arc endures. That’s why the early settlers in this part of Texas found this practically rot-proof wood so useful for fence posts and foundation blocks.

Hang in there!

God loves people who stay the course day after day, year after year, no matter what. Marriages and congregations thrive when they possess that determination to remain true, regardless of hazards or hardships. “... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus ... Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-2, 4). Satan uses the long stretches to weary and defeat us—if we let him. Every Christian who quits has stumbled into Satan’s trap. Knowing we’re in it for the long haul helps us resist the temptation to slack off, slow down, or give up.

Whatever you do, don’t quit!

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58).

Each of these powerful exhortations is backed up with a promise. Our toil is not in vain in the Lord. We will reap if we don’t grow weary.

What is perseverance?

“It is the spirit which can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope . . . . it is not the patience which grimly waits for the end, but the patience which radiantly hopes for the dawn” [William Barclay, New Testament Words, p. 144].

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36).