Persevere

Persevere

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

HER HUSBAND GONE, she found herself suddenly navigating a life she’d never imagined. Single parent to three, a mortgage she could no longer afford, a million details tied up in a web of uncertainty and chaos preventing her from moving forward as she waited on events beyond her control.

In the midst of the overwhelming sorrow and hurt and the temptation to curl up in a ball and do nothing, she persevered. Scripture filled her house, handwritten on small pieces of white paper and taped everywhere—on kitchen cabinets, mirrors, and doorframes—reminding her constantly of God’s goodness and his promises.

And God moved—in small and big ways—in the midst of all the hard. Her family, friends, and church family rallied around her. And then, after she spent years waiting in uncertainty but continuing to trust in God, he provided her a lovely new house she could afford, and her old house sold in less than a day. Rather than dispersing the storm, God met her in her perseverance, in the middle of the uncertainty and chaos. He reminded her, in a thousand ways, that he is the Overcomer and that the sorrows and hurts of this world are no match for his sovereignty.

Because she clung to God, persevering in what she knew to be true despite how dire the circumstances looked, her faith developed the kind of deep, wide roots that come from heartbreak and hard times, not understanding but finding God in the midst of suffering nonetheless.

That’s the thing about perseverance: it will take us into an intimacy with God we often don’t search out when life is smooth sailing. We often see God the clearest when we are at our most desperate, when all of the meaningless distractions of ordinary life are suddenly stripped away. When life is hardest, press into God. He will stand alongside you in the middle of the storm, even if he doesn’t stop it.

Lord, when our worlds turn upside down and inside out, help us persevere, clinging to your promises, knowing that you have overcome this world. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Pick three verses that encourage you when life is hard, verses that help you persevere, and post them where they will catch your eye.