"perseverance must finish its work"....James 1:4
In the midst of our darkest hour is when we are able to experience Jesus Christ in all of His fullness. It is there that we can relate with the Christ on the cross. We must choose in our darkest hour to persevere, just as the Son of God choose to persevere for us on our behalf as he hung on a cross on Calvary's Hill.
God is challenging me to a season of perseverance. Most of us just want to give up and throw in the towel in the midst of deep suffering. We wish to release ourselves from this pain so we choose to resign from it, flee from or or bury it so that we no longer have to deal with the depth of our suffering.
I'm holding fast to the promises of God that call me to persevere, that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and that the eyes of the Lord range back and forth throughout the entire earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him.
I remember Joseph who was sold into slavery, but did not give up hope and God blessed him for his perseverance. I remember Job who endured such great suffering and loss that his wife told him to curse God and die, yet Job held fast to perseverance in the midst of suffering and God blessed him ten-fold. Ruth held fast to the Lord in the midst of her desolation and God, by His grace brought deliverance for her.
It is rare that God's greatest blessings are not first proceeded by life's most painful moments. In fact, I'm almost convinced that we must always experience a deep loss or pain before God's greatest blessings.
So many choose to give in, the suffering becomes to great and they miss out on the beautiful story that God wanted to write. They miss out on the blessing to come because in the middle of their pain they could not see the beautiful story that God was weaving so instead they gave up.
Hold fast to Jesus in your greatest moments of pain. Do not give up or give in for there is hope for you in Jesus Christ. I am believing that as I persevere a blessing will come. If not in this life, then surely in the next.
Lord Jesus, you are joy. You are hope, life and peace. Your word is full of people who chose to believe you in the midst of their suffering. I choose to walk in that same faith, believing that you are using this to make me more like your Son, Jesus. You are teaching me about the gospel in ways that I would never have experienced if I had not walked through this.
My prayer is that you would refine my character, make me more like your Son and that soon you might bring deliverance, but even if you choose to make me wait I know that I have a Savior who walks with me. Let perseverance finish its work in me. In Jesus name, Amen.
