Joyfully Persevere!

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Persevere and drink it in….. regardless of your circumstances! 

Perseverance means to keep trying, keep moving forward, keep pushing no matter how much we want to quit! No one likes to be called a quitter! Many of us were taught by our parents that if you start something, you finish it! In Galatians 6:9 God says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." God wants us to persevere! 

The Bible tells about a man named Nehemiah. God gave him a big job to do. The wall around the city of Jerusalem had been broken down by enemies and Nehemiah was in charge of rebuilding it.  As Nehemiah began the work, many problems came along. He faced fear and discouragement, but he persevered until the wall was finished!

We all experience times of discouragement.  It’s mighty tempting sometimes to simply throw in the towel, give up, quit!  Do you ever feel sorry for yourself and think it's just too hard to be a Christian?  It’s then that we need to remember that God has wonderful plans for you and me. He wants us to trust Him as we persevere to accomplish His purpose through us. 

Let’s surround ourselves with cheerleaders! The Godly, Christian kind that encourage us to keep on serving the Lord…even when we are tired or discouraged. Satan wants us to give up.  That’s one of the ways he steals our joy!  Don't be a quitter. Keep on keeping on! 

            As James tells us in Chapter 1, verse 4: “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything!”