Articles
Keep Going
We all need perseverance. To per-severe means to be very serious about the thing we are doing. It means to hold on tight and not quit. We all need perseverance. It is needed by the young and the old. It is needed by male and female. It is needed by parent and child.
Routine tasks require perseverance. Something as simple as washing the dishes, cutting the grass, or folding the laundry takes perseverance. Day to day activities require that we persist physically, mentally, and even emotionally.
How much more so do we need perseverance regarding matters of the soul! The New Testament frequently mentions that Christians need to persevere. We must keep going. The Greek word often translated in our Bibles as perseverance is used around 30 times in the New Testament. It refers to the capacity to stay under a load. Do you ever feel like you’re carrying a heavy load in your walk of faith? If so, you will need perseverance in order to stay under the load. Your Bible might also translate the word as patience, endurance, or steadfastness.
In 2 Thessalonians 3:5, Paul offers these encouraging words for those Christians to whom he is writing: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ.” On the one hand, we look to Christ as our example of perseverance. Truly, the cross was a heavy load to bear. But Jesus persevered. He stayed the course, and for that we are thankful!
On the other hand, we can think of the perseverance of Christ as being that which He supplies. Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” In the context of Philippians, the idea is that through Christ we have strength to be content.
This brings us back to perseverance. Contentment is necessary in order to persevere. Since the very beginning, people have struggled with contentment. Adam and Eve were not fully content with that which God provided them. If they had been, they would have followed God’s directions. Our prayer for one another should be Paul’s longing for those in Thessalonica. “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
