Promises of God That Require Perseverance

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."
                                                                Hebrews 10:36




One of the ministries that I am blessed to serve in is a healing group that studies the Bible related to a particular area of brokenness that women need, and have often struggled underneath the weight of, for years and even decades. In the majority of cases these women are Christian women who love God and yet have found that certain promises of God have remained elusive to them despite their efforts to draw close to Him. By the time that most of these women reach out to us, they have typically experienced much heartache and have decided that this brokenness is keeping them from the best that God has for their lives. It is in this quest for more of God that the decision is finally made to overcome the barriers that have held them back.

One of the things that I have learned in this study is that there are two types of perseverance in which we can be involved: 1. There is a passive perseverance that simply allows us to survive, and 2. There is an active perseverance that will allow us to thrive. And, it is in thriving that God desires for each of us and that Jesus died for us to have. Both of these methods require energy and endurance and yet only the active perseverance will ultimately lead to victory in our lives and the fulfillment of all that God has promised to us.

Merriam-Webster defines perseverance as "continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition: the action or condition or an instance of persevering: steadfastness; to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement." What this definition says to me is that to truly persevere, it must be an intentional, active decision that continues until we see the promises of God come to fruition in our lives. Endurance measures our stamina or persistence while perseverance continues to act without regard to discouragement, opposition, or previous failure.

It is a passive perseverance that leads to discouragement, deception, and failure. Whereas, an active perseverance leads us to victory and the fulfillment of all of God's promises to us. Just to be clear, if the waiting time is extended for a long period of time, it is possible to vacillate between a passive and an active approach. Our ultimate goal, however, is to continue to grow in our faith and not vacillate between the two.

Just think about the people in the Bible who waited for extended period of times for the fulfillment of God"s promises:
                          Abraham and Sarah waited 24 years to have the baby God promised them

                          Moses waited 40 years in the desert to help emancipate his people

                          Noah waited 100 years while he was building the ark

                          Joseph waited 13 years in Egypt before God promoted him

                          David waited 13 long, difficult years being pursued by Saul before he
                          became King


All of these people continued to believe the promises that God had given to them while they waited. Which, honestly, is a very hard thing to do, especially living in a "microwave" society. Sarah exemplifies what not to do while we wait and that is to try to take things into our own hands instead of waiting for God to act on our behalf. Not trusting God to move or not trusting in His timing only leads to much additional angst and heartache and will never shorten the length of time in which we wait.

Perseverance requires patience. And, patience is what gives us the power to wait until we finally see the outcome. Patience is a powerful fruit of the Holy Spirit and is not utilized very often in our culture today. (Full disclosure: I absolutely hate waiting but am trying to improve in this area!) And, even worse yet, it is tribulation that cultivates this much needed fruit of the Spirit.

All of this then begs the question: How do we actively persevere according to the Word of God?

                      1.Acknowledge all your needs before God. Examples are: strength, courage, etc.

                      2.Continue to wait before Him and draw closer to Him while you wait.

                      3. Tell God you still believe His promises for your life. Speak each one out loud.

This ACT acronym is how we continue to be steadfast despite any disappointments we may face while we wait. In God's perfect timing, we will see the fulfillment of His promises and we will walk in victory, even in the areas where the enemy thought he had defeated us. God desires our victories even more than we do because He is the Perfect Father who loves us beyond all measure.

Even in the hardest fought battles, remember that the opposition is also being used by God to  prepare us for what lies ahead. When David was being pursued by Saul, the Bible tells us that "The  war between the house of Saul and the house of David was very long. David grew stronger and stronger and Saul grew weaker and weaker" (2 Samuel 3:1). Even in this battle though, there was certainly a time lapse where David had no idea that Saul was getting weaker and weaker. This was just something that David had to trust God and know that, in the end, things would work out the way they were supposed to.

Even fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12) are a tool that is used by God to burn up the things within us that will ultimately hurt us in our lives and also provides an ash that is fertile soil for the good things of God to grow. By their very nature, fiery trials are unexpected and frightening, but even in that, God can wipe out the fears that taunt us. Absolutely everything that we experience will ultimately be used for good in the capable hands of our Creator when we cooperate with His purposes and persist in them.

So, as we have now entered into a New Year and a new decade and era, it is my belief that refreshing and restoration are now upon us. Not only are they upon us, but I also believe that God is opening our eyes spiritually to see them and to know that even when it did not look like things were moving on our behalf that, indeed, they actually were. We may not have noticed that we were getting stronger and we may not have noticed that our enemy was getting weaker, but that still does not negate the truth of what God has been doing. This is the time and the season that we will see the fulfillment of many promises that we have long waited for!

     "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance."
                                                    Psalm 65:11