Perseverance

per·se·ver·ance    [pur-suh-veer-uhns]

 

1.	steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

 

Spiritual Context:

• We Christians often lose the enthusiasm and joy of our salvation. Sometimes we get so caught up with our priorities and responsibilities on this earth that we fail to recognize our most important goal: Salvation.
  

 

• In order for us to maintain the path to salvation, we must stay on the road of discipleship, but in order for us to do so, it requires perseverance.
  

 

    How do we obtain perseverance?

 

• We must acknowledge that perseverance is a virtue that cannot be easily obtained. You can't just wake up in the morning and decide that you have the virtue of perseverance.
  

    

• Like all the other virtues, we must earn it through trials and perhaps sufferings. Truly, there is no other way to obtain this virtue because by facing your problems in your daily lives, it is only at this time that you can practice how to handle them without affecting your service to God. Remember, God doesn't let trials and tribulations come in our lives for no reason. This is how He disciplines us, which eventually builds perseverance in us.
  

 

    Why do I want Perseverance?

 

• It produces character and hope (Rom. 5:3) within us.
  

  
   

• It will help us get through all of our future problems because when a similar problem occurs in our lives later down the road, we'll already know how to handle it, therefore, making it easier to for us to cope with it.
  

 

• I made a quote that says:
  

"Embrace life's adversities for it is what strengthens your character in the end" – Anthony Fortin.

 

• It is a foundation for the higher virtues of godliness and love, ultimately allowing ourselves to be useful in service to God (2 Peter 1:6-8).
  

  
   

• Perseverance is like a prerequisite for these higher virtues like how there's a set of prerequisite classes a college student must take before he/she can take upper division courses.
  

 

• Also, a house can easily be toppled down if it has no strong foundation; so how can one expect to be a true disciple of Christ if he/she doesn't even have the most basic virtue needed to be Christ-like?
  

 

    Thus, perseverance is a step toward the greater goal of developing the character that God desires in us. It is "the path to virtue, learned in endurance through dry spells, despite dark periods, and under trials and suffering."

 

    How can I be successful in persevering?

 

• Patience and perseverance comes hand in hand. Patience reassures your success in perseverance.
  

 

• Trust is another important factor. Trust in yourself that you can get through whatever comes your way and trust that God is with you through it all. Remember, nothing will happen to you that You and God together cannot handle.
  

 

 

Exploring the characteristics of Perseverance

    

    Serving God requires consistency. To obtain this consistency, it requires perseverance. But it is quite obvious that when we practice perseverance when serving God, it will come at a cost to us. Costs such as your time away from school, family, outside friends, and obtaining other personal goals are what will be sacrificed if we want to be consistent in serving God.

    

    What will I benefit from incurring costs for the sake of perseverance?    

 

• When it comes to decision making, people often make decisions based on the relative measure between costs and benefits. If benefits outweigh costs, then we are easily motivated to follow through on that decision. But perseverance is opposite. With perseverance, we have to follow through with the decision from beginning to end no matter the cost.
  

  
   

• Looking at it in this perspective, it seems like serving God is too much to ask for, especially in this society where time is valuable. But what we must consider is that there are different types of costs.
  There's spending and there's investing.
  

 

• Spending is when you incur costs (money, time, effort) to obtain a goal or item. Basically, you pay what you get, and you get what you pay. It is an equal exchange of costs between two parties.
  

  
   

• Investing, on the other hand, is incurring present cost to gain future benefits. You buy stocks and bonds from a public corporation in order to get a share of earnings from that company. If their company grows, your investments grow with it. Eventually, your benefits will outweigh costs at the end.
  

 

 

    By serving God at any cost is like "investing" in your salvation. When you persevere in serving God by not considering costs such as money, time, and effort, it will all add up in the end. And I'm sure we all know that our salvation is a benefit that outweighs ANY costs we incur here on earth. Remember, it's a win-win situation because whatever you give up for the greater glory of God is given back to you ten fold.

    

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working."