A Plane Ride to Perseverance
“Why have I done this? What was I thinking?” were the demanding questions I battered myself with during the first semester of my freshman year in college. I hated living so far away from home, my piano professor was exacting, and I was only one face in thousands of others. I was miserable.
I went home for Christmas determined to convince my parents why I should not return to the Christian university in which I was enrolled. Every dinner table conversation became tense, and I cried myself to sleep many nights of the much-anticipated, holiday fortnight. My mother was concerned about my emotional stability, and so thought that I should stay at home for the spring semester. My father remained thoughtful and quiet.
With New Year’s Day looming, my gentle and compassionate father invited me to go for a drive with him. He spoke with me about the leading of the Lord, how to hear God’s voice and why he believed I was called to serve the Lord even during the hard seasons of life. “You are a Burton,” he said to me with kindness. “Burton’s finish what they start.” He assured me that he would support my decision if I wanted to return home after completing the year, but he didn’t want me to give up mid-stream.
I boarded the college-bound jet armed with a box of tissues and a new resolve. I could do this. I could persevere when I didn’t like my circumstances, when I was lonely, and although everyone I loved lived one thousand miles away.
Perseverance is a character trait that has become a lost virtue in our microwave culture. We want to do it now, have it now, buy it now. If something requires hard work, tenacity or endurance, we walk away from the challenge assuring ourselves that it probably wouldn’t be worth the work it required.
Perseverance is a character trait of God Himself. He is steadfast and a God of eternal faithfulness.
“For the word of the LORD is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness.” – Psalm 33:4
Most wonderful of all, He has promised to give us His strength when the details of life seem to press in all around us. If you feel like giving up today, perhaps you could take a deep breath and ask the Father to give you what you lack.
As a 19-year-old college student, I returned to the university to finish my freshman year. I began to thrive in that foreign environment and made lifetime friends. Four years later, my parents cheered wildly at my graduation. My dad looked deeply into my eyes and said, “I’m proud of you. You did it.”
My friend, your heavenly Father is cheering for you to become a woman of perseverance. And someday, as you cross the finish line of life, you will hear the words, “I’m proud of you. You did it.”
Questions for Reflection:
1. In what area of life do you need perseverance?
2. How do you believe that choosing to be a woman of perseverance might change your life for the better?
3. How have you seen the faithfulness of God in your life?
