f I had a book of hard hitting Christian words, P would be for perseverance. Whenever I hear that word I cringe because I know all
the connotations it brings. Living in a society of
instant fixes and instant results, perseverance is
slowly getting squeezed out of our character. In
the world where nothing is made to last, we are
asked nothing more than to give something a go
and if it doesn’t work or you don’t like it you are
free to move on. It almost seems that there is no
place for perseverance or that perseverance is
somehow becoming redundant, or is it?
In James 1:4 we are asked to consider it pure
joy when going through trials and temptations
because it is through the testing of our faith that
perseverance develops. Verse four was a particular revelation for me, “Perseverance must finish
its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.”
Perseverance is not just
a good idea, but also a
Biblical principle.
As Christians therefore we have a responsibility
to ensure that perseverance does not disappear
from the men and women of today or the children of tomorrow. We have a responsibility to
ensure that perseverance does not succumb to
its redundant fate.
As James points out, perseverance must finish its
work. This is not an optional extra! James offers
us no other option if we are to become mature
and complete. Once the excitement of a new
project has worn off, what drives us to finish
it? When the honeymoon is over and you have
each gained a few extra kilos and a large mortgage what keeps our marriages together? James
calls us as Christians to finish what we start, he
calls us to good old-fashioned stick-ability. What
James highlights is that if perseverance does not
finish the work, then what does?
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What I am seeing more and more on my journey is that as people abandon perseverance the
work is not being finished. Deadlines are not
being met, marriages are not lasting, renovations aren’t being completed, and books remain
unfinished. But what is perseverance, what is this
essential trait that spurs us on to maturity and
completeness?
Well if perseverance were a woman, she would
be the one sitting in the corner of the office. Easy
to miss at first, there is nothing to draw attention to her except the contentment on her face
as she goes about her work. She is not loud or
flashy but if you ask her boss, she is spoken of
highly. Words such as dependable, reliable is
what she is noted for. Her boss points out the
asset she is to the company because she will
always get the job done, and on time.
Perseverance is a loving wife as well, thirty years
into the marriage she is still looking for ways to
be a blessing to her husband and show him that
he is loved. She has stood firm and guarded her
marriage, she has settled disagreements quickly
so they have had no time to fester and take root.
Perseverance does life with her husband day by
day, investing into their relationship.
Perseverance is a mother who lovingly walks the
journey with her children. She endlessly encourages them in their pursuits and is there with compassion and support when they encounter disappointment. She can’t recall how many times she
has heard her son play that piece of music on the
piano. She can’t count the number of times she
has driven her daughter to netball and cheered
from the sidelines, however perseverance will
tell you that she will continue to support, encourage and teach her children for the rest of her life.
Perseverance is also the astute businesswoman,
she has taken some big risks and had a couple
of losses. Perseverance however cannot be held
down for long. With each loss she assesses her
learnings, picks up and starts again. She is not
afraid of hard work, she remains determined to
see her dreams come true.
Used with permission. http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?id=1645
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