Issue 2010 #1
Table of Contents:
|
Thinking About Perseverance
While on my prayer walk this morning, I took the time to thank God for the beauty all around me. That's not hard to do with the mountains to the west, the crops in the fields and the gardens and flowers in people's yards.
While I was admiring the freshly cut lawns on a particular street, I found myself focusing on one particular yard where the people had certainly mowed their lawn but there were ragged edges of long grass that had not been trimmed and numerous piles of debris around the place. My focus quickly went from their effort to mow their lawn and stayed on the unsightly, neglected things that still needed to be done.
God quickly directed my thinking by reminding me that my own spiritual "beauty" is just like that. One doesn't have to look very far to see all of the ragged edges and piles of debris that I still need to work on to become totally Christ-like. That takes perseverance!
Hmm.... I also noticed in that same yard that two step ladders were strategically placed against some areas which would indicate that there was work in progress. All that needs to be accomplished there will require a LOT of hard work, not to mention some time and expense.
Have you ever noticed that we don't learn to persevere unless there is some kind of hard work involved, not to mention time and some kind of cost?
God, please help me to persevere as I learn and grow through the hard things in life - the difficult people I need to love, the uncertainties I face, the selfishness I struggle with, the disappointments I have. I know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5)
Beryl Harbidge
|
