Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11 (NIV) 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Hebrews 10:39 (NIV) But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
It is common to begin the faith in joyous devotion and expectation. But then the vision seems to fade and the race is long. So we slow to a walk, then to a careless saunter. And then we quit all together. Perseverance is the continual, faithful doing of the spiritual disciplines, but it is not simply dogged determination. Perseverance is as much an attitude as it is an action. The Greek word for perseverance literally means “to remain under.” Perseverance is not so much trying hard for a long period of time as it is maintaining a regular attitude of submission to whatever Christ would give us or not give us. It is what I call the continual contact of attention, the regular, faithful turning of our attention to the person of Jesus Christ, whether we do that in prayer, through the Bible, in meditation, or in giving attention to a nudge that we have had in the back of our minds, finally to act on it, believing this just might be God’s direction for us.
This is the paradox of perseverance that it often does not appear to be a gift and it does not feel that way. But, our sense of connectedness to God, our awareness of a plan and purpose being worked out, our sense of call, our confidence of what God can do can be lost to our failure to persevere. And we begin to go through the motions of life. We get lost in the frantic pace of life. We succumb to the dullness of routine and try to scale down our expectations so that if we cannot be supremely happy at least we will not be bitterly disappointed. That is life for those who shrink back, who do not persevere. But we are not of that kind. There is not only the call to persevere; there is the gentle but firm pressure from the One who endured the cross. We are among those who are given patience, perspective, and perseverance as God leads us according to His will, not ours.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 20, 1996
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
No comments:
Post a Comment