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Perseverance
by Dr. Robert D. Luginbill, Ichthys
Perseverance is a quality we will find ourselves in need of when testing comes our way (Jas.1:3-4; Heb.12:1). And just as soon as we have established a good Christian life, making progress in learning about God and His will while exercising good control over our behavior, we can definitely expect to be tested. Perseverance and hope are closely linked by the apostle Paul (Rom.8:25), and in perseverance (lit. "abiding under" the pressure of testing), we have the closest thing to hope on Peter's list. Perseverance is sticking to our beliefs and applications (such as consistently taking in God's Word) even when the pressure and testing mounts. Hope is the flip-side of perseverance. Our confident expectation that after death we shall be with the Lord forever, that we shall experience a glorious resurrection of this present, fragile body, and that we shall be rewarded for our faithful service to the Lord here in this life all contribute to a perspective that transcends the present moment and instead fixes our gaze on the eternal realities which so out-shine the difficulties of the present. This is the hope that gives us the will to endure and persevere.
Source: ichthys.com
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