Friday, April 12

As I sit thinking about women in the Bible who showed great perseverance, I think of Mary.  Before being chosen by God to give birth to His Son, Mary was already an example of a godly woman.  Probably as a young teenager she had to face the displeasure of her espoused and society in general when she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  I mean, who would believe such a thing?  Then traveling to Bethlehem while nine months pregnant couldn't have been much fun.  Giving birth in a stable was something she certainly hadn't planned on.  The warning that this beloved child would be the cause of her broken heart was something she lived with for thirty years.  It appears something happened to Joseph, her husband, before Jesus' death because Jesus gave her into the care of John as she watched Him dying one of the most painful deaths imaginable.  Have you ever thought about the fact that when God chooses you for great responsibility it comes with great pain?  That was Mary's life.  God counted on her to endure and with His help she did.

God counts on you to endure also.  Your situation will most definitely be different than Mary's, but you will have to endure.  Maybe your children will not choose to follow God.  Or your husband will choose to leave you.  Or you might develop a chronic health condition.  Or have to live in poverty.  Some of the pain we have to endure is because of bad choices.  Some of it is from the devil.  The important thing is that we must continue to endure.  Think about the following passages:

⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  Gal. 6

We have a precious hope which we will receive if we endure - don't lose heart, choose to keep doing good. No matter what.  Even when we don't want to any more.

²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10

Why should we endure?  Because God is faithful and He will keep His promise.  How can we endure?  Surround ourselves with others who share our hope.  Talk about our hope.  Dream about our hope.  Encourage others to stay strong and do what is right.

³⁵ Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

³⁷ “For yet a little while,
And He^[j] who is coming will come and will not tarry.
³⁸ Now the^[k] just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”^[l]

³⁹ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Our confidence has great reward when we hold on with endurance until the end.  You can do this with God's help.

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶ For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”^[a]

⁷ If^[b] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

My prayer for you is that you will keep your eyes on Jesus - "consider Him" - especially when you are called to endure.  He was able to endure "for the joy that was set before Him."  You can do the same.  Remember the joy set before us: eternity with a loving and good Father Who wipes away every tear, a place that is "very far better."

Keep on keeping on.

Thursday, April 11

What does perseverance look like?  What are things that help us develop this trait?  Here are some examples:

dealing with depression
standing for the right when all your friends do not
attending assembly even when your young children keep you from being able to concentrate on the lesson
working with a good attitude in a bad work situation
doing what you can even when you are dealing with health issues
being godly when your spouse is not
keeping study and prayer a priority
fighting addictions
keeping your tone and attitude right with difficult children
smiling when you are tired and/or hungry
dealing with people in difficult ongoing situations
being godly with annoying family members

Now we don't normally look at these things as blessings, but we have seen that trials are what help us develop this important characteristic.  It's all in how you look at it.  And looking at it the godly way will also help you deal with the trials.

Today's assignment:
1.  Choose a Bible character who had to endure a trial.  Read about him/her looking for ways he/she dealt with the situation and overcame.  Share your results.

Wednesday, April 10

Women in different seasons of life face different challenges.  All need to persevere to reach the goal.

 ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Roman 5

This passage shows us how to develop perseverance.  It isn't easy, but that should be expected from the definition of the word.  We only know we can persevere when we actually do it - walk with God through tribulations and endure.  Unfortunately, from our point of view, that means we need tribulation to develop that character.  If we look at it that way, then we can understand and agree when James says,

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Today's assignment:

1.  Look at your own life situation and define the tribulations you face.  List them on a piece of paper and ask God to give you the strength you need to persevere.  Optional: share one or two with a passage that helps you persevere in that area.

2.  Look at a woman in a different life situation.  Think about what tribulations she may be facing, and ask God to help you encourage that woman to stand.

Tuesday, April 9

Perseverance is long-term.  It is endurance through whatever comes.  It is an unending commitment to something you believe.  It is a decision.

¹¹ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11


We can learn a lot by looking at the examples God has given us in the Old Testament.  Job, of course, is famous for his perseverance.  He persevered when he lost all his worldly possessions and his children, when his wife turned against him, and when his friends let him down.  James tells us that we are to learn something from his experience: the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.  He has a good end intended for us.

Your assignment for today:
1.  Choose an example of perseverance from the Old Testament.
2.  Share a lesson we can learn about perseverance from the example you chose.

Monday, April 8

⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance,


We started with faith.  We learned it takes diligence to add to that faith, and we learned we needed to start with moral excellence.  As a new Christian (or old) the first thing our faith produces (and continues to produce)  is a change in how we talk, dress, respond to others, think, and live.  As our lives begin to change we search the Scriptures for knowledge so we can continue to become more godly.  Time passes.  Sometimes we find this change is hard to keep in place, but we are diligent.  And so we begin to develop self-control, sometimes only a bit at first but baby steps are good and lead us toward our goal of godliness.  Time passes and we realize the next step is absolutely essential if we are to finish this race we have started.  Perseverance.

"Keep on keeping on" is how I think of perseverance.  It's a longer version of self-control.  Self-control helps in the moment; perseverance must last a life-time.  Our example for this week is Hagar.  She created a bad situation for herself with her attitude.  She then tried to run away from the situation, but God sent her back to face her mistress.  She was to spend the next decade living under a harsh mistress.  She would have to persevere.

Today's assignment:
1.  Find a good definition for perseverance.
2.  Read Genesis 16:1-16 and share any thoughts you have about Hagar.