Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, “because you have kept My command to persevere . . .” (Revelation 3:10).

Continue to persevere spiritually.

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February 22, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

It feels like I am- like the song says, just “Holding On”. Going through the motions, doing what is expected; putting one foot in front of the other. I believe that if I keep my eyes on my God, He will arrange all things for good. I believe that all the current emotional trauma and uncertainty are simply illusions, made so by my inability to know His ways. I believe God……….. help me in my unbelief.

And God says…”It is natural for you to wonder where I am when trials and troubles overcome you and yours. And your brother’s passing has made it all the more overwhelming.  But you are learning to look to Me in all circumstances, all trials.  You are learning that I am truly there even when it appears that I am nowhere to be found. You are learning to hold on in every circumstance. You are being transformed by these very circumstances”

James 1:2-4 (The Message)

 ^2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.