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Faith Column: Perseverance in pressing on

Wyatt Stockton
Faith

I want to encourage you to press on and persevere in your walk with God. In its most pure and simple form, the walk with God and what we are called to as Christians is to simply keep going. We are called to press on until the end. All the flourish and pomp and fame and so-called accomplishments mean nothing if you do not finish the race or endure to the end.

Those that win a race are not always the fastest or strongest — they are the ones that actually finish. This life in God is like that; the promises are to get us there, and the prize is for those that do not quit. It is for those that endure until the end with His help.

According to the cannon of scripture and the date of the writings, the oldest and first written book of the Bible was Job. It is all about persevering and enduring. The very first writing in the cannon of scripture is about persevering. The last book of the Word is The Revelation of Jesus Christ, in which we are admonished to persevere.



The apostle James refers to Job and this very truth in his epistle.

James 5:8 — You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.



James 5:9 — Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door.

James 5:10 — Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

James 5:11 — As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

So from the beginning to the end, it is about faith and enduring until the end. Well if that is the case, the logical question is, how?

Well, it is not about the strongest, or fastest, or most worldly capable.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 — As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

The way we endure and persevere until the end is by leaning, dependancy and surrender.

Psalms 121:1 — I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from?

Psalms 121:2 — My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

The powerful truth is that the concern of the King of heaven is not as much where you are on the path or how far you feel you have gotten, but which way you are facing and going, and if you are still on it.

The strong do not make it. The independent fail. The lone ranger dies in the wilderness. However, the dependent and surrendered make it to the end leaning on their Beloved. We are called and commanded to endure until the end, but never were we called to do it alone or in our own strength.

Wyatt Stockton is the pastor at Ridgeview Church of God. You can contact the church by email at Ridgeviewchurchofgod@gmail.com.


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