Growing – Perseverance

2 Peter 1:6, “… and in your self control, perseverance…”

With the foundation of faith laid in believing Jesus as the Son of God and faith in the Father that He is love and causes all things to work together for good for those who love him the qualities of Christian character begin to build within our soul Faith as the foundation holding up moral excellence as a first floor, supporting objective knowledge as a second floor, supporting the third floor of self control, leading to this discussion of the fourth floor of perseverance.

The floors of a building analogy is intentional because without a sufficiently developed previous floor(s), the current floor cannot grow. And so we as Christians find Christ and His salvation leading to a relationship that is distant and objective at first. Stumbling into the need for self-control crisis sweeps us off our character back to the foundation of Christ. And yet somehow as these building blocks of Christ like Character are laid upon one another Perseverance emerges as a new level.

Perseverance is by definition the “persistence in a course of action.” It is the persistence in self-control. A person quitting the use of tobacco is not persevering on day one, or two, or three… that person is in an epic battle of self-control. But as those daily, even hourly battles are won then perseverance emerges. Perseverance being persistence, or continuing, in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

So perseverance is the trait where self-control is second nature. It is the place that the soul, almost unconsciously chooses the spirit over selfish desires. It is the place where the Christian’s character is unwavering in an act of self-control regardless of the physical, psychological, or emotional pain associated with the obedience. Think of Jesus… He endured (persevered) the cross.

Oswald Chambers wrote this concerning perseverance. "God does not give us overcoming life; (perseverance) He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength... if you spend yourself out physically, you become exhausted, but spend yourself spiritually, and you get more strength. God never gives strength for tomorrow, or the next hour, but only for the strain of the minute... The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God."

And so this character of perseverance, of trusting God implicitly in some singular area of repetitions self-control can manifest in a multitude of ways. It could be the end of major battles in fighting addictions. Perseverance could be ignoring financial discomfort for the sake of obedience to God. It could be fighting fear to find Christ peace in the midst of a health crisis. Whatever it’s form, perseverance in the end of what Christ is, and showed us with His life. Perseverance is reaching the top of the stairs, where each step of self-control looks just like the previous step... but there is an end. Perseverance is seeing the hilarity of the difficulties.

Equally important is that perseverance is a necessary building block of godliness.