Perseverance

Yesterday our church service was about perseverance, something I'm not that great at. When I went to bed Saturday night the thought of skipping church entered my mind, not because I knew what it was about and wanted to avoid it, just simply because I wanted to be lazy and stay home. I woke up Sunday morning with a strong sense of "you're going to church young lady" milling around in my brain. I'm trying really hard to listen to that little voice, the one many call your gut instinct but I call God, because things seem to go much more smoothly when I do. So, I went. And then church started and as we were singing I was so happy I did. And then Pastor started talking; I had to smile because I knew the service was one God wanted me to hear. The whole things was packed full of good stuff, stuff I needed to hear, stuff I didn't want to have thrown in my face as if to say "Yoohoo, you need to work on this!"

Do you struggle with hanging in there when the going gets tough? Maybe you're like me and have a history of quitting. As a kid I quit gymnastics, I quit the swim team, I quit piano. I quit two marriages and countless jobs. I blame the last two on a number of things, some of which are totally true, but mostly it was because the tough came rolling in and I bailed.

There were four things Pastor said to do in order to develop perseverance...

1. Give your life your best...regardless of the hurt.
Ok, not so easy! Give LIFE your best? All of life? All of my best? Then I was reminded that you develop this by living by your commitments not your feelings. For a huge part of my life I had that backwards. I had no idea it was the other way around, honestly. As a Christian was are told that we have joy. It's important to note that joy is NOT happiness. I have found myself many times over the last few months making statements like "I have a great life!" and "I'm so blessed". Just so you know...the last year has been the worst year of my life, ever. But regardless, I have a peace in my soul because no matter what's going on I am still a Christian. That is joy.
2. Do the right thing...keeping integrity no matter what
Man, this is getting harder. That's what I was thinking while sitting in service yesterday. I am prone to do and think later. It's that whole feeling thing I guess. But I'm working on this, trying to think about things before I simply react. I'm seeking counsel from wise Christians and I'm spending time in prayer and silence with God. I tell my kids all the time to do what's right not what's easy, understanding we sometimes fall short.
3. Actively resist bitterness
I wrote in my notes yesterday to spend some time seeking what I am bitter about. I mean really sit down and give it some thought, dig deep. Write it all out. Cry over it. And then...accept what I can't change, make peace with my choices, and instead of crying over what I don't have be aware of what I do. I see bitterness in so many people in my life right now. It makes me sad. But if I were to be honest, it's in me too. And bitterness only hurts the person who's bitter.
4. Trust that God is at work...always!
The last two years I have had to walk many times in pure faith. I have been put in situations that went against every ounce of who I am simply because I felt God asking me to. I didn't know the outcome. I didn't know if I would be ok, if my family would survive, if I would lose everything. Sometimes I'm good at remembering that God is in control even when I don't feel it. Sometimes I'm not. The verse we ended on yesterday is a verse that has gotten me through many dark days...Colossians 1:11 God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.

Looking at all of this at once, trying to work on it all at once is very overwhelming. If you struggle with perseverance, like me, I encourage you to pray over the list and ask God to point out what to work on first. Break it down into bite size pieces. Talk to your accountability partners so you will not walk through this alone. But above all remember that we are running a marathon, we are called to be Christlike not Christ and we will not "get it right" until we die and He makes us right.

Till next time...