The Way of Peaceful Perseverance

Perseverance is about a lot more than just gritting your teeth and hanging on. This seven-day devotional from Michele Morin reminds us that when the newness of our faith wears off and everything feels too hard, we are called to press in to Christ. He is the prize.

Day 1: Rescued, Resilient, and Resisting
Day one opens with a beautiful piece of advice from missionary Jim Elliot to his fiancée. He told her to be completely present wherever she was and to live fully in every situation she believed was God’s will.

That is a great standard, but waiting is hard. The reading points to a clever trick from C.S. Lewis’s fictional demon, Screwtape. The demon advises making humans think a difficult season will be over very soon. The goal is to make them yield and give up right at the moment when relief is actually almost in sight.

Recognizing that trick is a game changer. Instead of falling for the lie that we cannot take it anymore, we can lean into three biblical truths for the long haul.

First is rescue. Psalm 31 says our times are in God’s hands. When we obsess over the timeline or convince ourselves it will be over soon, we actually miss the chance to endure today with gratitude. We have to stay in the present moment.

Second is resilience. Isaiah reminds us that God helps us, so we can set our faces like flint. This is where our daily habits matter most. When we are weak, we fall back on our routines. Building solid habits of holiness now gives us something to stand on when the testing comes.

Third is resistance. Hebrews tells us to look at Jesus, who endured so much hostility so that we would not grow weary. We have to resolve to finish well.

We resist the urge to quit just because we are tired. And if you feel like you have already handled a crisis poorly, there is always grace. You can start over today with God’s fresh mercy.

You do not have to see the finish line to take the next faithful step. You just have to be fully present right where God has placed you today.

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