VI. Perseverance

Continuing to Follow God Through Life’s Journey

When responsibilities continue for a long time, results are slow to appear, or new difficulties keep arising, we may feel exhausted and even wonder whether we can keep going.

Scripture does not promise that the road will always be smooth once we respond to God’s call. Joseph experienced slavery and imprisonment. After being anointed, David spent a long time being pursued. Moses faced Pharaoh’s resistance and the people’s complaints. Paul also experienced persecution, danger, and deprivation in his ministry.

These accounts help us recognise that the road of following God may be long and difficult. Perseverance enables us to continue relying on Him under pressure, rather than readily abandoning responsibilities that are already clear simply because results are slow to appear. Its focus is remaining faithful to God. For this reason, when we discover that we are wrong, we also need to accept correction.

1. Perseverance Is Grounded in God’s Grace and Faithfulness

Paul writes that “suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope” (Romans 5:3–4, excerpt). These words rest on the gospel foundation laid out immediately before them: believers are justified by faith, have peace with God through Christ, and have gained access to the grace in which they stand. The passage goes on to say that God’s love has been poured into believers’ hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1–5).

Perseverance and hope need to be understood in the context of God’s salvation and continuing provision. In suffering, we do not have to depend on willpower alone. Nor does enduring more pain necessarily make us more mature.

Suffering can leave us discouraged, angry, or disoriented. Paul himself acknowledged that the affliction he experienced in Asia was so severe that it exceeded what he could bear, and he even despaired of surviving. This led him to rely not on himself but on God, who raises the dead. He also explained that the believers’ prayers had helped them (2 Corinthians 1:8–11).

This allows us to acknowledge our limitations honestly. Those who trust God may still feel overwhelmed, and they can make their needs known to their community. Accepting help does not weaken perseverance; it may provide important support for continuing on.

Even when we cannot explain everything that happens, we can still return to the love God has revealed in Christ, receive mercy, and ask Him for the strength and wisdom we need today.

2. Waiting Tests Our Resolve to Remain Faithful to God

While Saul was pursuing David, David had opportunities to kill him. Yet he refused because he would not harm the LORD’s anointed (1 Samuel 24; 26). The danger did not immediately disappear. He still needed to wait and entrust his circumstances to God.

These events took place in the specific context of Israel’s kingship and the LORD’s anointed; they cannot be used to exempt leaders today from accountability. They help us recognise that, even under pressure, our actions need to be governed by God’s truth. We cannot assume that the means are justified simply because the outcome appears advantageous.

Joseph was eventually released and entrusted with new responsibilities. Yet Scripture does not thereby guarantee that everyone who suffers faithfully will experience the same turnaround in this life. We can hope for our circumstances to improve and take responsible action towards that end. At the same time, we need to recognise that God’s faithfulness cannot be measured solely by whether a particular plan succeeds.

3. Continuing to Follow God Requires Discernment About When to Make Changes

Some difficulties call for us to keep facing them; others indicate that we need to change our approach, reduce the scope of our responsibilities, or reconsider arrangements together. Discerning the difference requires prayer, attention to the facts, listening to counsel, and taking our actual responsibilities seriously.

We need to discern whether we are holding fast to loyalty to Christ or to a particular way of doing things. If an existing approach is ineffective or harmful, it should change. If the responsibility remains clear, we should seek a more appropriate way to fulfil it. Changing a plan can be a responsible response, while continuing to use the same method may not be appropriate.

Especially when facing harm and injustice, we must not use “God is shaping you” as a reason to require others to endure harm that could be prevented. Those who have been harmed need protection, and those who do wrong need to be held accountable. Leaving an unsafe situation, exposing wrongdoing, and seeking appropriate help can all be consistent with continuing to trust God.

Perseverance means continuing in the direction of following Christ. The particular place, role, and methods need to be assessed in light of truth and actual circumstances.

4. Perseverance Allows for Grief, Rest, and Seeking Help

Prolonged difficulties can drain people physically and emotionally. We cannot simply tell someone to “hold on a little longer” without making a serious effort to understand what they are enduring.

Hebrews 12:1–3 urges believers to run with perseverance the race set before them, looking to Jesus so that they will not grow weary and lose heart. This teaching acknowledges that people can become weary and need to turn their attention back to Christ.

The laments in Scripture show us that we can bring pain before God. We can express disappointment, admit that we do not understand, and ask for help. Weeping does not automatically indicate a lack of faith. Often, it is precisely how a suffering person opens their heart to God.

Rest and treatment also need to be taken seriously. Physical exhaustion calls for recovery; illness calls for care; and excessive pressure may call for a temporary reduction in responsibilities. We do not need to wait until we are completely depleted before allowing ourselves to seek help.

Supporting those who suffer is also a responsibility believers share in their life together. Hebrews 10:24–25 urges believers to encourage one another towards love and good works; Galatians 6:2 also calls us to bear one another’s burdens. Supporting someone who is suffering involves listening, sharing practical tasks, and, when necessary, helping them find appropriate support.

We cannot declare on behalf of those who suffer that every injury will bring some particular benefit. Nor should we require them to explain what they have learned before offering care. Sometimes the response most needed is to acknowledge the pain, provide protection, and remain patiently alongside them. Such support makes perseverance part of our shared life.

5. The Hope of Perseverance Extends Beyond Immediate Results

Peter points out that God has called believers in Christ to His eternal glory, and promises that He will strengthen them after they have suffered for a little while (1 Peter 5:10). This promise directs believers in suffering towards the fulfilment God will ultimately bring.

The words “suffered for a little while” cannot be used to guarantee that a particular difficulty will end soon. In relation to eternity, suffering in this life is limited. Yet for those enduring it, it may still be prolonged and heavy, and they need real help.

We may not see every task completed in this life, nor be able to explain every loss. Yet Christ’s resurrection enables believers to hope for bodily resurrection, the full realisation of salvation, and being with God forever in the new creation He has promised (1 Corinthians 15:20–23; Revelation 21:1–4).

This hope enables us to take today’s responsibilities seriously and also to accept the end of a particular stage. Even if we cannot complete all the work, or can no longer carry responsibilities we once held, we can still trust the Lord and entrust ourselves and the unfinished work to Him.

Continuing to follow God through life’s journey means continually returning to Christ amid changing circumstances: receiving grace, examining our direction, taking responsibility, and waiting for His promises to be fulfilled.

The Six Qualities of Character Are Not Six Exercises in Self-Improvement

The fear of the Lord leads us to take God’s holiness and authority seriously. Trust enables us to rely on Him within the limits of our understanding. Humility helps us recognise our place. Obedience brings the truth we understand into action. Faithfulness enables us to act responsibly and continue holding fast to what has been entrusted to us. Perseverance enables us to keep following God through waiting and pressure.

These qualities are interconnected; they are not six stages to be completed in sequence. We continue learning to trust as we obey, discover our need for humility as we take responsibility, and learn perseverance through sustained faithfulness. Each quality needs to keep growing amid changing circumstances.

Love runs through them all. Paul points out that gifts, knowledge, and even great sacrifice cannot take the place of love. Without love, these cannot bring the benefit he describes (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). As we put these qualities into practice, we need to care genuinely for others, allowing love to guide our persistence, actions, and responsibilities.

Such growth needs to unfold in a life of continuing communion with Christ. In His teaching about the vine and the branches, Jesus helps His disciples understand that they need to remain in Him in order to bear fruit (John 15:1–8). Paul also connects believers’ obedience in practice with God’s work within them (Philippians 2:12–13).

God accepts those who trust Him because of Christ’s redemption; He does not wait until they are mature before showing them grace. Those who have received grace, in turn, need to turn away from sin and learn holiness with the Holy Spirit’s help. Growth in character cannot become a condition for earning salvation, nor can grace become a reason to refuse repentance.

We study Scripture attentively, acknowledge our needs in prayer, receive counsel in our shared life, and respond through concrete choices. These practices help us put the truth we have received into daily life. They are a response to grace, not a way to earn God’s acceptance.

Self-examination can help us grow, but we do not need to give ourselves a daily score for our character. We can bring together before the Lord the sins we need to confess, the responsibilities we should carry, the help we need to seek, and the grace for which we can give thanks—responding honestly and continuing to learn to follow Him.

Character Sustains Mission More Deeply Than Ability

Ability helps people carry out work; character shapes how they use their abilities, treat others, and respond to responsibility. Someone may be very gifted yet unwilling to accept correction, influential yet dishonest, or clear about their goals yet use methods that harm others.

Saul provides a sobering reminder. He did not obey God’s clear command, but defended keeping the best cattle and sheep on the grounds that they would be sacrificed to God. Samuel said, “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22, excerpt). Outward religious actions cannot replace a genuine response to God’s will.

Fulfilling what has been entrusted to us requires character consistent with God’s truth, as well as the relevant knowledge, abilities, and cooperation with others. Emphasising character does not mean neglecting the development of abilities or practical responsibilities. Chapter 4 will explore further how leaders use their abilities in carrying out actual responsibilities, work with others, and allow their actions to be examined.

God can renew people through waiting, difficulties, and the quieter parts of daily life. Yet the experiences of Moses in Midian, David on the run, and Joseph in prison each had their own specific context. We cannot conclude from them that every interruption to a plan means God is correcting a particular problem in someone’s character.

Even when we do not yet understand why we are waiting or encountering obstacles, we can begin responding to the responsibilities that are already clear today. We learn as we carry them out and seek help when we discover our limitations. Personal growth and practical service often take place at the same time; we do not need to wait until we are fully mature before beginning to respond.

Growth in character has value in itself. Even without a higher position or greater influence, becoming more honest, humble, and willing to love others is still a genuine response to God. Growth in our lives cannot be measured solely by how much work it helps us accomplish.