Because you have kept
My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10
Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding
on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in
the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but
our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint
says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching
until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself
to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance
right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the
perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I
trust Him” (Job 13:15).
Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and
vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though
you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him.
Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from
establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the
supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total
confidence upon God.
God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He
wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are
areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still
untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s
life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life,
that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3).
The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to
face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great
romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is
disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
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