Persistence leads to a victorious life. The Bible has a lot to tell us about persistence, including reasons to remain persistent as well as motivation for doing so.

  1. Learn persistence through godly teachers. Ephesians 4:11-16 indicates that maturity and unity in faith develop as you listen to godly teachers. This maturity and unity provide a foundation for persistence that keeps you able to “hold to the truth in love” as you become more like Christ.
  2. Persistence develops through connection to Jesus. Apart from Jesus, you won’t bear fruit. Keeping connected to Him and His Word develops your confidence in Him to supply all your needs. (John 15:4-8)
  3. Praying develops persistence. Learning to make prayer a habit develops a consistent dependence on Christ. Consistency in this area provides the basis needed to be consistent in all other areas of life. (Ephesians 6:18)
  4. Have a plan and keep moving forward. Having a plan to follow takes away the emotion factor and allows you to move forward even when you feel weak and tired. (Hebrews 12:12)
  5. Know your convictions before you need them. When struggles come, your beliefs and convictions give you the hope you need to stay faithful. (2 Timothy 1:12) They make decisions ahead of time that would be clouded when emotions run rampant.
  6. Keep doing good. While doing good sometimes seems fruitless and selfishness seems to be the way to prosper, don’t not lose sight of the fact that God does bless those who do good. (Galatians 6:9-10)

Persistence seems to be an integral part of who I am, and I believe that is true for everyone. Unfortunately, we too often learn to ignore that part of ourselves. We live in an instant-gratification culture that has taught us we don’t need to be persistent to get what we desire.

Fortunately, He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). That means that persistence can rise up again as we realize that God encourages as well as gives motivation for being persistent. The rewards – the victories – are so great and well worth any wait!