Do you settle for far less than what God has planned for you. See 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. The trait of persistence is required if we are to overcome life’s obstacles. Paul does not even mention the word “quit”. Persistence is a quality trait in a person. It is a combination of strong desire and will power.

1 – It is the capacity to continue on course in the face of difficulties, obstacles and discouragement and refuse to give up

Quitters generally do not achieve much in life. Persistence applies to all areas of life. If we are going to achieve God’s goals in our lives it is not going to be easy. It will require persistence. Nothing could stop the Apostle Paul.

2 – What is the motivation?

It is the value that we place on the goal that determines our persistence. My persistence will reveal the value I place upon that goal. Is your goal worth going after? Are you making progress toward you goals? Your goals should be clear and worth the effort. We are trusting in the living God and we refuse to give up.

If you do not have any goals in life then you will just fumble through life without any real purpose. At what age does the Bible tell us to stop serving God and give up?

3 – Why is persistence so important?

Defeats, failures and mistakes are an inevitable part of our lives. Persistence helps us to deal with these. If your goal is just to retire then get yourself a different goal! You are worthy of higher goals than that.

• Christopher Columbus was determined to discover this new world and despite many obstacles, he did not give up.
• Edison failed 10,000 times to create the light bulb. He only went to school for three months! He had persistence.

Don’t give in, no matter what. There are many people in history who have experienced failure but succeeded – through persistence. When we were babies we learnt to crawl and walk through persistence. Why do so many people not continue this throughout their life? Don’t so easy surrender – we need to persist! You need goals that are worth pursing with great persistence.

People who have plenty of money tend to take things for granted as they do not have to work for it. Endurance builds character in our lives. There is a difference between failing an event and being a failure. You may be delayed from reaching your goal but it will now stop you getting there! You need to learn from your mistakes so that you can succeed the next time.

We need to bury our failures and not hang and frame them up on the wall. We are to put failures behind us and move on.

4 – How do I develop persistence in my life?

Here are a few suggestions:-

• Set a goal that demands your best. Not something that you can do easily. Set it high enough that it demands your best.
• Develop a burning desire to make it a reality. Don’t let people pour cold water on your goal. Life gets exciting and you are challenged.
• Keep your eye on the goal.
• Refuse to listen to negative criticism. Don’t surrender to negative criticism.
• Surround yourself with encouraging friends.
• In every defeat, look for a personal lesson. If you look for someone to blame you will have missed the lesson.
• Practice self-control. You must not let your emotions control you. You may feel one way but choice to not give in to your feelings.
• Believe you can reach your goal. God knows you can do it and he will give you the strength.
• Rely upon God to enable you. You are not to do it in your own strength.

See Philippians 1:6. Go has not given up on you, no matter what. God has set goals for our lives and we are not to give up. Resurrect the goals you have in your life, bury the failures and take a step in the direction that you know God wants you to take.

Categories: Philippians