Pushing through difficult times and challenging stages is something we all must do. One of the hardest things to do is to push through the tough times and come out on the other side. Working through tough times requires an increased level of motivation and determination. When tough battles arise, it often means continuing to work and move forward even when you don’t want to or even when you’re struggling.
Being persistent forces you to push through and continue moving forward on your journey, whether you want to or not. An important concept within persistence, lies in one of its closely tied relatives, consistency.
“If you feel like giving up, give up on that feeling and give into the realization there are endless possibilities waiting to be discovered before you.” – Tom Althouse
“Do not sit still; start moving now. In the beginning, you may not go in the direction you want, but as long as you are moving, you are creating alternatives and possibilities.” – Rodolfo Costa
“Never give up. Things may be hard, but if you quit trying they’ll never get better. Stop worrying and start trusting God. It will be worth it.” ― Germany Kent
Hebrews 10:36 (AMP) For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.
Proverbs 24:16a (NIV) for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…
Falling doesn’t make you a failure, but failing to get up, does.
“Anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, that’s true strength.” —Chris Bradford
Pastor Rick Warren writes in A Purpose Driven Life: “God could have kept Joseph out of jail, kept Daniel out of the lion’s den, kept Jeremiah from being tossed into a slimy pit, kept Paul from being shipwrecked three times, and kept the three Hebrew young men from being thrown into the blazing furnace, but He didn’t. He let those problems happen, and each of them was drawn closer to God as a result. Problems force us to look to God and depend on Him instead of ourselves.”
When we allow our struggles to draw us closer to God, we also allow Him to build us up. We will be solid and victorious because of His strength, not our own.
Galatians 6:9 (TLB) And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.
I conclude with Job 17:9 (TLB) the righteous shall move onward and forward; those with pure hearts shall become stronger and stronger.