Stay the Course!
Stay the Course!
The scriptures says in Psalms 118:22 – “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing”.
Perseverance cannot be rushed. It takes time to persevere and to stay on course when sometimes our doubts and fears would have us travel some other path. The only real way to develop perseverance is to endure pressure – and over a long period of time.
A martial arts practitioner must gradually practice his or her Katas more often in order to develop more expertise, a lawyer must try more cases in court if he is to become a leading expert in the field of law, and a runner must run farther and farther, pushing past the comfort of each stride to become a world class runner. If these athletes want to continue to improve, they need to persevere over long periods of time.
The same is true of our faith. If we want to grow as Christians, we too must learn how to persevere and stay the course. The scriptures, in Hosea 6:3 says: “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord”. Meaning, if we pursue the Lord, and hunger and thirst after Him, and His righteousness, only then shall we be filled with the Knowledge of the life He has prepared for us.
In this life, we sometimes encounter tough and unsettling circumstances that seem to overwhelm us. And the scriptures are clear that God often allows difficult situations to occur in our lives to strengthen us. But we should be encouraged to learn that He has said “He will never leave us or forsake us, even until the end.”
No one ever said living for Jesus Christ would be easy. In fact, history teaches the opposite, that many of those who stood for righteousness not only encountered difficult times, but often lost their lives in the process.
What we do know is this: If we stay the course and continue until the end, we will eventually receive a reward that not even our best imagination could describe. The scriptures put it this way: “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
Wait on the Lord, be of Good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.
Trust him today for the rest of your life - for He cannot fail.
Jesus is coming!
