The Disciple's Journal Character Trait #1: Perseverance

As I posted right below this one, I am attempting to go through The Disciple's Journal this year, which features 52 different character traits/commands or promises of Jesus. So far, I have "persevered", but I know this will be difficult as the year goes by.

The first character trait is perseverance, which is a good one for me to start off with because I think perseverance is a trait that builds consistency in one's life - something I definitely need. I'm one of those kind of people who are good at dreaming dreams and visions and knowing what I need to do to improve my life and direction in life - but then I forget about those things or hardships come up and I drop those dreams and goals immediately. This one was also good for me to start off with, because it just happened that this past week I had a major project I had to finish with a firm deadline, and I needed to persevere through all of the challenges (waiting on other people to give me things I needed for the project, one of my family members being sick, still having to do all the normal weekly stuff, etc.). Thankfully with God's help, I was able to persevere and finish the project.

When I think of perseverance, two immediate images come to mind. The first is a picture I once saw. I tried to find it, but to no avail. It's a picture of a little tree that is growing on a mountainous rock that has nothing else on it. It doesn't look like there is any soil or nutrients for this tree to survive on, and there is no shelter from the elements either. Yet the tree continues to grow even though everything is against it. The other image that comes to mind is of the British sprinter Derek Redmond from the Olympics a few years ago. As the race started, Derek immediately tore a muscle in on of his legs and collapsed to the track. Obviously he wasn't going to win the race. But he wanted to finish the race, so he got up and started hobbling towards the finish line. His dad saw him start to do this, ran out onto the track, and helped his son cross the finish line.

In life's challenges, it's hard to continue on the journey that God has called us to walk. But when we look at some of the examples in the Bible of people who persevered through incredible hardships - Noah; Joseph; the list of the cloud of witnesses found in Hebrews 11 - we are spurred on and encouraged to not give up. To continue fighting.

I have committed to memorize a verse each week that has to do with whatever I'm studying, and this week, I chose 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

This is a great verse for me personally, because when there are extreme challenges in my life, I can be reminded that what I'm doing for God is not in vain and that he is with me every step of the way. If I trust in him, he will see me through whatever I face.

Let me close this post with some of the great evaluation questions that are given in The Disciple's Journal every week (different ones based on the theme of each week):

- Do I finish books I begin reading?
- Can others depend on me to carry out an assignment to its completion?
- Have I established clear goals for my spiritual life?
- Am I able to set aside distractions in order to reach those goals?
- Do my goals affect my daily life in a perceptible way?
- Would people close to me consider me a persevering person?
- Do pressures challenge me to motivation or do I feel like quitting when things get difficult?
- Am I cooperating with the One who endured the cross to give me the spirit of endurance?

And my favorite one, and one I've really been thinking about: Do I have a goal in life I am willing to die for?