A life of faith is characterised by a lifestyle of constant perseverance. When we put our faith on God's solid foundation, we can be assured that perseverance will only come naturally. In the same way a ship is not easily moved by current or wind when anchored to the sea floor, a life anchored to Christ will not easily be moved by the challenges we might face.
But what if you're not the kind of person who perseveres? Maybe you want to stand strong in trial, but you just find yourself quitting easily.
The real problem has little to do with your perseverance and strength and has more to do with who you're anchored to. Are you anchored to your own abilities, networks or resources? Or do you remain anchored to Christ?
There's a story in the Bible of a Samarian king named Joash who neither persevered nor lived faithfully for God. Kings tells us that King Joash had lived doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the king's attempt to superstitiously win back God's favour, he visited a dying Elisha who gave him a simple instruction in 2 Kings 13:18-19:
"And he said, 'Take the arrows,' and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, 'Strike the ground with them.' And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, 'You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.'"
It may sound weird how God would not bring the king victory simply because he failed to follow a task that was poorly instructed. Why didn't Elisha just tell Joash to shoot five or six arrows in the beginning? That's because Joash's failure went just beyond the arrows. It was simply a symbol of His unwillingness to persevere in his faithfulness to God.
A perseverance problem is simply the surface of the true root problem, which is a lack of faith in Christ. A building's collapse is simply a testament of a lack of good foundation. In the same way, a lack of perseverance only shows a lack of faith in God.
Do you want to persevere? Don't focus on what strength you have but what strength God has and look to that. When we fail to do so, we'll be like a foolish man who builds a house on sand. Storms will show us for what we're truly made of.
James 1:12 tells us, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."
A life lived by faith will bring perseverance, but a life without faith anchored to Christ will result to a lack of perseverance.
