Perseverance

"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:11

Perseverance is not something we get excited about. It's all about enduring something that is not easy. We want the easy route and then we want to get the blessing. It's kind of like having our cake and eating it too! Well, life doesn't often work that way and neither does life as a Christian.

People who persevere are blessed. The Lord blesses them with spiritual growth and strength. Other blessings also come as a result of persevering. Look at Job... he persevered the infliction placed upon him and remained faithful to God throughout the process. This is what the Lord gave to Job, "The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters" Job 42: 12-13

I am so thankful that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Aren't you? The Lord knows our trials. He knows how we struggle to persevere. When we are trying our best to persevere everything in our flesh is telling us to quit. When we start thinking about quitting we need to call upon our Greatest Encourager to give us the strength to persevere. God knows just what we need to keep us going.