PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance 9-20-09 this is the presentation i did in our ABF at church when i facilitated the last chapter of a book we had been studying called Spiritual diciplines for the christian life, by whitney


Perseverance…….The act of presevering….continued patient effort…..adhearing to a course of action, belief or a purpose…..steadfastness……remaining constant to a purpose, idea, or task in spite of obstacles or discouragement…….refusal to stop…..hang in….hang on…..hold on….endure…..stay the course……stick with…..stick to…..follow….uphold…..carry on….continue……BEAR under……

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

To BEAR; I have used the analogy of the birth process….to bear down….takes a lot of focus…energy…determination….perseverance…..will power and self denial…..you wonder if you can survive long enough to catch your next breath….

I believe some biblical versions say ‘handle’ instead of bear….or we loosely interpret ‘bear’ as it won’t hurt…. won’t be highly difficult and challenging…..I on the other hand believe and have experienced that; ….God promises us that in temptation, trials or challenges (in which we may be tempted to sin or give up) he says, it will not be more than we can ‘bear’….. ‘bear’ as in birth….. The shear ability to take breathe, be alive and give praise and petition. Even if it is thru gasped breaths.

* I clean for an elderly gentleman of 86 years, who has suffered with diabetes his whole life….his mother told him if you live long enough to lose both legs…you will be blessed! And he has, as well as suffered multiple heart attacks. And officially been dead 5 times! He has one of the best attitudes I have ever seen. When I great him and ask how are you this week Al? He always grins and says well, I am able to sit up and take nourishment….and he is serious! He loves the Lord and takes perseverance serious!

The author of the book talks about the fact that despite our labor saving devices and technological advancements we are more and more being robbed of our leisure time than the last generation. He further notes that reading this book may also make us feel even more discouraged ie; one more thing to “have” to do making us feel like “a tired staggering juggler on a high wire trying to keep a dozen eggs in the air with someone else wanting to throw you a half dozen more!” And I think if most of us are honest….It Does!

He also talks about evaluating our priorities……I have personally given this a lot of thought…and I believe it is to each person to decide this……but here are a few things for thought…..material things require maintenance….and so do relationships, keeping our house clean and laundry done is important….but so is quality time with our Lord, spouses and children….being involved in activities is good….but serving people in need is imperitive. He also says that Laziness never leads to Godliness, we can’t stop everything, but we do need to evaluate……God expects us to be busy….but busy with what?

He also points out that even if our natural temperment isn’t bent towards orderly discipline…the presence of the holy spirit within you equips you with enough of a supernatural “spirit of …self discipline” for you to obey the command to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness…….It is the Holy Spirit who is causing you to persevere…..bear up under……so does that leave us any excuse?

God himself helps us pray. When we “do not know what we ought to pray for….the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Rom 8:26)

Have you been there? Where you haven’t known how to pray? It is only the groaning of your spirit that leads you….or speaks on your behalf?

What is the hardest thing you have ever had to persevere thru?

How did you get thru it? Practically , emotionally, spiritually?

Why did you perservere?

AT THIS POINT I SHARED WITH MY ABF THE TWO LIFE THREATENING EXPIERIENCES WE HAD WITH OUR GIRLS ONLY WEEKS APART.....OUR OLDEST DAUGHTERS RAPE AND AND OUR YOUNGEST DAUGHTERS CORODID BLEED (A COMPLICATION OF HER TONSILLECTOMY-RESULTING IN EMERGENCY SURGERY. OF COURSE I DIDN'T GET THRU IT WITH OUT TEARS....(SOBBING) ACTUALLY.....IT CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE B/C I FELT LIKE I HAD MOVED PAST THOSE THINGS....THE TERROR THE PAIN THE ACCEPTANCE, ANGER, GRIEF, THE DREDDED REALITY....BUT YET TO TELL THE STORY.......STRUCK A CORD THAT I THOUGHT I HAD DETACHED FROM.......AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER HARD THINGS WE HAVE PERSEVERED.....AND YET I STRUGGLE AND STRIVE TO MAKE MY REALATIONSHIP WITH MY CREATOR......THERE ARE DAYS WHEN I LACK PERSEVERANCE........WHY IS THAT?

Lyrics to ‘He is there’ by Mandeesa
There’s a time to live
And a time to die
There’s a time to laugh
And a time to cry
There’s a time for war
And a time for peace
There’s a hand to hold
In the worst of these
He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can’t even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby’s gone
And your house is still,
And your heart’s a stone
Cryin’ God, what’d You do that for
He is with you
There’s a time for yes
And a time for no
There’s a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There is a time to run
And a time to face it
There is love to see you
Through all of this
He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don’t know you anymore
He is with you in the ICU
When the doctors don’t know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you
We may weep for a time
But joy will come in the morning
The morning light
He is with you when your kids are grown
When there’s too much space
And you feel alone
And you’re worried if you
got it right or wrong
Yes He is with you
when you’ve given up on ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you
When nothing else is left
And you take your final breath ….He is with you!

…some of you may have experienced many of these things in your life time already…..bless you…….many of you may not have…..bless you. God allows different trials and challenges…blessings and joys…..but all are intended for our growth and our relationship with Him. If you have been blessed to have gone thru “tough stuff” you understand perseverance on a survival level……but what He is commanding us is sooooo much simpler……why then is it sooo hard? Is it too, not survival? It is building our eternity…building the kingdom (this life is momentary) Those of you who have been blessed with maybe less trials, may not have the experiential “survival mode” pace, to pull from, but again. What he is asking us isn’t torturous, or pain staking. It is to enter more fully into knowing our creator…..our very breath of Life.