Text: 2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Source
It is not tautological to say Paul is a worthy example of someone who has the habit of perseverance. This apostle who faced so many challenges said, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
When a journey gets too painful, we may be tempted to turn back but the brightness of the dawn comes immediately after the darkest hour of the night the laws that govern life and nature are similar. The greatest lesson on perseverance is that when we are about to give up, the breakthrough is areund the corner. Goals are not always achieved the first time one sets at them, but each attempt gets us wiser and , closer to it. Whoever is not ready to fall cannot learn how to ride a bicycle we need to keep pedaling to remain on top of it.
According to an accomplished American golfer, “The work of a great player is in his ability to come back. The great champions have all come back from defeat”. We can apply this to our spiritual life because all of us are team players in the kingdom of God. There are instances of peOple who are close to having the reward of their waiting period but could not persist to the end, but “success," according to Winston Churchill, “is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
What faithful men and women feel is not as important as what they believe, knowing they are supposed to walk by faith, not by sight. They can feel hopeless but refuse to believe that things are hopeless - there is actually no hopeless situation, only people who think hopelessly. In this wise, they stick to a process, no matter how difficult and seemingly unrewarding. In the above passage Paul presented a summary of his sufferings that could have made a weak mind to give up.
Whereas most people criticize and complain about everything they feel is condemnable, we should instead see our hope of salvation, using our inner strength to make our minds to stay on course without wavering. In other words, let us endeavor to always see the end from the beginning. Perseverance is not so much about waiting as it is about how one behaves while waiting. When a man makes up his mind that there is nothing he can't endure, fears and distractions are conquered. We should not be finished until we finish; remember, it is not over until it is over. A real winner is one who starts well, continues well and ends well people are actually more interested in how you finish than how you start. Someone said, “Carbon is to steel as perseverance is to the character of man: no man can be great without it. Sometimes you might need to pass through fire before being useful, however, ensure that you come out of it.”
We can do practically anything we set out to do if we apply ourselves diligently and learn, although we might need other's support. Christians should always be ready to learn from anyone and anything, even at the risk of insults. How we overcome our challenges is the actual measure of our SUCCESS.