PERSEVERANCE: To keep working on something even if you don’t want to
C.S. Lewis said, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
Samuel Johnson said, “Great works are performed, not by strength,
but by perseverance.”
Perseverance is one of our principles at Higher Calling Martial Arts can also be found in many areas of the Bible. This character trait is one that will help you be able to fulfill all that God has in His plan for your life.
It will help you achieve goals that you set out to achieve. Maybe you have decided that you would like to become a black belt in HCMA. This will take a lot of perseverance
because it takes most people 3 years of continual training to be ready to test for their black belt. Remember the story of Noah and the ark (Genesis 6-7)? Noah had to
persevere for many years building the ark God told him to build . Once he finished it, he got the prize of being saved from the flood. Having perseverance will help you live a more fulfilling life. Sometimes it is really hard to stick to a goal we set forth and sometimes it is hard to do what God is calling us to do but with perseverance you can do it!
Do you remember the bible story of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). In this story a widow was being treated badly. She kept begging the judge to make things right. For some time the judge refused, but finally he gave in due to her persistence and
perseverance. This was a parable the Jesus told to teach His disciples to persevere when they are praying even if it seems like it is doing no good.
Have you ever been in a situation that you wanted to do what you knew was right, but your friends wanted to do something that you knew was not the best thing to do? Think about the story of Daniel (Daniel 1-6). Daniel was captured and taken to a foreign country where it was not acceptable to worship God. Daniel knew that he could die for praying and worshiping, but he persevered in his prayers and even prayed 3 times per day. God honored this perseverance and when they threw him in a den of lions, God protected him and kept him safe for he was doing what he knew was right.
Don’t be ordinary, be extraordinary by persevering in all that is right!
MORE TO THINK ABOUT:
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test,
that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord
has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
ACTIVITY
Try one of these activities pertaining to PERSEVERANCE!
- Research who Samuel Johnson is: I will give you a bit of a start. He was an English writer who was born in 1709 and died in 1784. As an infant he was not healthy and there were questions on if he would even survive. He had many challenges throughout his life, but through all of them he persevered and his perseverance paid off.
- Make a list of what you can say to yourself that will help you to persevere:
Example: What can I say to myself?
Instead of: Try thinking:
Instead of: I am not good at this. Try thinking: What am I missing?
Instead of: I give up. Try thinking: I’ll use some strategies I have learned to help.
Instead of:I made a mistake. Try thinking: Mistakes help me to learn better.
Instead of: She is so smart. I will never be that smart. Try thinking: I am going to ask her how she does it so I can try it too.
Instead of: Plan “A” just did NOT work. Try thinking: It’s a good thing there are 25 more letters!