Persevere!!!

In 2017, I began hearing the Holy Spirit whisper to me, "Persevere." Honestly, at that time, I really didn’t understand why he kept telling me to "Persevere." I was living alone and working on my book, writing plays for my church and learning the craft of authorship. All was well. It’s only been in recent months that I came to understand that God was telling me to “Keep believing, keep moving, and don't quit!”

My daughter and grandchildren were in the thick of a spiritual battle which by 2018 was at my doorstep too. I took in my two oldest grandchildren to help my daughter after a nasty divorce. She kept the twins while still trying to hold it all together as a single mother. I had been a single mother, so I understood her struggles: relationally, financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Although my family had been enduring a difficult trial, God said, "Persevere!" And when we thought we weren’t going to make it, God said, "Persevere!" When we didn’t know exactly what to do or how to do it, God said, “Persevere!” When some people turned their backs on us, God still said, "Persevere!"

When I looked up the word "Persevere," I noticed it was a verb, which denotes action. And the definition read, "continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success" (Oxford Dictionaries).

What really caught my attention in the Oxford Dictionaries were the synonyms for perseverance:

"persist · continue · carry on · go on · keep on · keep going · not give up · struggle on · hammer away · be persistent · be determined · see/follow something through · keep at it · show determination · press on/ahead · stay with something · not take no for an answer · be tenacious · be pertinacious · be patient · stand one's ground · stand fast/firm · hold on · hold out · go the distance · stay the course · plod on · plow on · grind away · stop at nothing · leave no stone unturned · soldier on · hang on · plug away · peg away · stick to one's guns · stick at it · stick it out · hang in there · bash on."

Now, I know exactly what God meant! He wanted us not to quit and give up. 

Luke 21:19 (NIV) says, "Stand firm, and you will win life."

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) explains it best: "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

In summation, we should do as Romans 12:12 (NIV) instructs: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." 

Footnote:

 Oxford Dictionaries. (2020). https://www.lexico.com/definition/persevere