What Does It Mean to Persevere?
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Are you a quitter? A quitter gives up when things are hard or uncomfortable. A quitter gets discouraged thinking a job will never be finished. Instead of quitting, God wants you to persevere.
Persevering means to keep going through a hard time without giving up. The Bible tells about a man named Nehemiah. God gave him a big job to do. The wall around the city of Jerusalem had been broken down by enemies. Nehemiah was in charge of getting the huge wall rebuilt. As Nehemiah began the work, many problems came along. Nehemiah faced fear and discouragement, but Nehemiah persevered until the wall was finished!
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There will be hard times in your life when you'll be tempted to quit. You might feel sorry for yourself and think it's just too hard to be a Christian, but God can give you perseverance. God has wonderful plans for you. He just wants you to trust Him as He works them out in your life. Don't get discouraged. Don't be a quitter. Keep on keeping on! God says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest [be rewarded] if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).
Forgiving others can be hard, but the Lord Jesus said that God will forgive you only as you are willing to forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15). You may not be able to forget the hurt, but you can choose to forgive the one who has hurt you. Are you keeping angry feelings inside toward someone? Confess it to God and ask Him to help you forgive.
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