Quotes about Perseverance

For faith with no effort is no faith at all.

Money gone. Expectations dashed. Friends vanished. Who's left? God is.

Don't see your struggle as an interruption to life but as preparation for life. No one said the road would be easy or painless. But God will use this mess for something good. "This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children . . . God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best" (Heb. 12:8, 10 MSG).

Upper-room futility. A little bit of faith but very little fire.

First thought of the morning, last worry of the night—your Goliath dominates your day and infiltrates your joy.

You wanted to know how you'll make it on your own?" Manny asked as the sights and sounds of the lush Jerusalem garden gave way to the sterile hospital chapel. "You'll never know. Because you never will be.

We know Satan will attack weak spots first. Forty days of fasting left Jesus famished, so Satan began with the topic of bread. Jesus' stomach was empty, so to the stomach Satan turned. Where are you empty? Are you hungry for attention, craving success, longing for intimacy? Be aware of your weaknesses. Bring them to God before Satan brings them to you. Satan will tell you to turn stones into bread (Matt 4:3). In other words, meet your own needs, take matters into your own hands.

Pits have no easy exits.

In Matthew 24:8, Jesus called these challenges birth pangs. Birth pangs must occur before a new birth. During this time the mother keeps focused on the end result, the moment she gets to hold that beautiful baby in her arms. She knows birth pangs don't last forever and they signal a new beginning in her life. Calamities and catastrophes are the earthly pains that must occur before the birth of the new world. Hold on. Grit your teeth. The next push could be the last.

God gets us through stuff. Through the Red Sea onto dry ground (Ex. 14:22), through the wilderness (Deut. 29:5), through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4), and through the deep sea (Ps. 77:19). Through is a favorite word of God's: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (Isa. 43:2)1

Mother Teresa is credited with saying, "God didn't call us to be successful, just faithful.

You meant evil against me, Joseph told his brothers, using a Hebrew verb that traces its meaning to weave or plait. You wove evil, he was saying, but God rewove it together for good. God, the Master Weaver.