Perseverance

IBS 7

Luke 21:19
 
“By your patience possesses your souls."

I have always heard people say “When you ask God for patience, He doesn’t just give it to you. Instead, He puts you into situations where you can practice patience.” Today my class hiked Agua. Agua is a dormant volcano that is 1200 feet above sea level. This hike took us a total of twelve hours to get up and back. I began the hike excited for the journey; joyful and ready to take it on. Nearly half way into the hike I started feeling the altitude change. My legs were getting sore, it became harder to breathe, my head started to hurt and I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. I think often in our walks with Christ we step into new seasons with joy and excitement; only to realize trials and temptations will come our ways as we are in Gods will. It would have been easy to have been content with reaching at least half way up, but I wanted to see the view from the top. This hike up Agua was the single hardest thing I have ever done; but I feel so rewarded. The hike was not easy by any means, there were times when I wanted to quit, but looking forward to the top made me keep going. The Lord continued to show me that I didn’t have the strength to complete the task. My body is weak; but all I had to do was stick one foot in front of the other and keep going. God put me in a situation today that called for patience, which in turn produced perseverance. In my walk with the Lord I know I will and have faced trials and temptations which could easily cause me to not walk any forward in my relationship with Christ. But I want Him at His fullest. I count all things a loss that I might know Him.

Application: As my days feel long and my body becomes tired, I will press on and make sure all of my class work is done before going to bed at night. I will continue to wake up early to spend time with Jesus and honor others needs before my own.