Life can be hard sometimes. In fact, there are seasons of your life in which it feels like life is hard more times than its not. It’s easy to throw up your hands and quit. However, doing what’s easy rarely equates to doing what is right. If you’re feeling tempted to give up, take a moment and consider the importance and the power found in persevering. God’s plan for you doesn’t include giving up in the face of your circumstances. Don’t quit. There are better days ahead.
When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, it’s easy for us to want to quit. Let’s be honest, we don’t particularly enjoy resistance. We live in a world that promotes instant gratification, and when we’re faced with anything that requires patience, perseverance, or persistence, we typically shy away from it.
In January of 1987, John Elway rallied his Denver Broncos teammates in a powerful example of persistence. It was the AFC Championship game, and the winner would go on to play in the Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns were the home team and had a 20-13 lead with a little more than five minutes to go. The Broncos got the ball, but they were on their own 2-yard line with a little more than five minutes to go.. To make things even more unlikely, the Broncos had used all their timeouts, and had no way to stop the clock. Years later, stories written about what would become known as “The Drive” revealed that there were members of the Broncos who believed that things were hopeless. After all, there were more than 79,000 fans in attendance, almost all of them there to support the Browns.
Before “The Drive” started, Keith Bishop, an offensive lineman for the Broncos, calmly looked at his team and declared, “We’ve got them right where we want them.” Remarkably, the Denver Broncos went on to put together a 15-play drive that culminated in a touchdown and an extra point that would tie the game. In over time, the Broncos kicked a field goal, won the game, and went on to the Super Bowl.
What would have happened if everyone had just given up because things seemed unlikely? How different would things have looked if every player on the Broncos had just dropped his head, accepted their fate, and refused to try?
How much different could your life look if you give up? No, you may not be standing on a football field, surrounded by screaming, opposing fans. You may not see 98 yards of resistance in front of you. What you’re facing may seem far more difficult. When faced with the possibility of giving up, it’s easy for us to choose the easy way out. However, that’s not God’s plan for us.
Today, choose perseverance. Choose persistence. No matter how unlikely things seem, you can look to Scripture to find examples of Godly men and women who chose to persevere. You can do the same.
Job
Job 2:7-10 (NIV)
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a broken piece of pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
In the verses that we just read, things were looking pretty bad for Job. Satan had received God’s permission to touch Job’s body, but he couldn’t touch his life. However, before we read these verses, Satan had already afflicted Job. In the opening chapter of Job, Job had lost everything. He was a rich man, but he had lost all his livestock in addition to the servants who cared for them. The most tragic loss in Job’s life came when all 10 of his children were killed when a violent storm destroyed his oldest son’s home.
Job’s wife was his last remaining family member, and she posed a simple way out for him: curse God and die. In her eyes, the only way out was for Job to do something that would cause God to take his life. However, Job refused. His reply spoke to the fact that he had always received good things from God, and now it was simply his turn to deal with some hardships.
Had Job taken his wife’s advice, he would have never been able to experience the greatness that we find at the end of the book that bears his name. Because of Job’s perseverance, God blessed him with twice as much as he had at the beginning! God rewarded Job’s persistence, and He will reward yours.
A Persistent Mother
Matthew 15:25-28 (NIV)
The woman came and knelt before him, “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s brad and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
If you skim over this story, you may get a skewed idea of how Christ interacted with people. First, it’s important to note that this woman was a Canaanite, meaning that she was not a part of the Jewish nation. In fact, the Canaanites were longstanding enemies of the Jews. However, she had enough faith in Christ to know that this Jewish carpenter was actually much more than what He appeared to be.
When she initially approached Christ, He turned down her request. After all, He had come to help the Jews. However, it’s crucial that we understand that Christ knew the end of this story from the beginning of the interaction. He didn’t turn down the woman’s request because He didn’t want to heal her daughter. Instead, He wanted to see if she would persevere.
How do you respond when it seems like God is turning down your requests? It’s easy for us to grow frustrated and simply give up. If the mother in this story had taken that approach, her daughter would not have been healed.
If you’re praying about something but aren’t seeing results, keep praying! God rewards faithful endurance just like he did for the Canaanite mother.
The Apostle Paul
2 Corinthians 11:30-31 (NIV)
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.
It could easily be argued that Paul provides the greatest example of persistence in the Bible. Some of the things that Paul faced include being imprisoned multiple times, being faced with death on countless occasions, public floggings, public stonings, being beaten with rods three times, receiving 39 lashes on at least one occasion, and being shipwrecked at least three times.
Paul faced all those things solely because of his commitment to preach the Gospel. Paul was so active in the Kingdom that Satan would stop at nothing to silence him. However, in his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul said that the only things he would boast of were the things that showed his weakness.
Paul knew that the things that highlighted his weakness highlighted God’s strengths. Paul could have quit preaching, stopped planting churches, and refused to write the letters that would make up such a large portion of the New Testament. Instead, He insisted on persevering in the face of situations that seemed impossible.
God has a plan for your life, but the only way that you’re ever going to see that plan come to fruition is to commit yourself to persevering. Paul knew that God had a plan and a purpose for his life, so he refused to give up. You have the same promise.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, give me the strength that I need to persevere through what I’m facing. I know that You have a plan for me, and that You reward faithful endurance. In Christ’s name, Amen.