Perseverance When Life Isn’t Hard

When I was fifteen years old I read a book about faithfulness that impacted me greatly. It was a novel, actually, and the main character had promised God when she was young that she would remain faithful to Him no matter what happened to her in life. Of course, the plot thickened with all these horrible tragedies that befell her and her family until she was advanced in years. To be honest, it was rather a depressing book. But the point was that faithfulness means persevering through difficult times.

I’ve walked through my own set of troubles and learned what suffering can teach you about faithfulness and endurance. It can cultivate a deep dependence on God, and truly, I think that is one of His purposes in redeeming our suffering. When we hold on to Him though life falls apart, we learn how faithfully He is holding on to us. The Christian who clings to Christ in times of great sorrow and pain bears the fruit of faithfulness. Perseverance, by definition, is pressing forward when faced with trials or obstacles.

And yet, I think faithfulness encompasses more than enduring trials, though it certainly isn’t less than that. As I’ve observed friends, family, and church members for the past decade or two, I’ve seen that the root of genuine faithfulness is found in regular, everyday steadfastness no matter the surrounding circumstances.

Genuine faithfulness is like genuine contentment. It exists outside of external influences, or maybe even in spite of them. Paul learned the secret of contentment (which encourages faithfulness to Christ) when he realized that satisfaction was found in Christ alone, not in the ebb and flow of his circumstances—even the good circumstances. On the heels of his encouragement to rejoice in all things, Paul said, “…for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:11-13).

Any and all circumstances. As with all gospel-centered living, it’s a paradox to be content in every setting. It’s logical to be discontent with suffering and content with peace, right? But Paul says contentment in any circumstance comes by being strengthened in Christ. We’re not left to wonder how that happens. In Colossians 1, Paul tells us that being strengthened by Christ is tethered to growing in knowledge of the Lord and His will (Col. 1:9-12). In 1 Timothy, Paul says that being a good servant of Christ requires nourishment from the Word (1 Tim. 4:6). There is a connection between faithfully following Christ in contentment and feasting on the Word of God. The circumstances are secondary, really.

When I think of the people I know who have exemplified extraordinary faithfulness to Christ, the common denominator is an equilibrium of contentment that has grown from regular expressions of faithfulness: Bible intake, intentional prayer, investment in the local church. It’s actually not extraordinary. It’s ordinary. These folks feed their faithfulness with the things that draw them near to Christ. They are the ones who grieve with an unearthly hope in times of tragedy but who are as hungry for the Word on their good days as they are on their bad days. When contentment is anchored to Christ, it cannot be stolen when life is uncertain or shelved when life is trouble-free. The faithful remain steadfast because their hope rooted in the One who defines steadfastness. Hang that hope on anything else, and it will vanish in a moment.

For those who are in Christ, and for those who aren’t, true contentment will only be found in Christ. How do we grab hold of that kind of contentment? I think Paul points us in the right direction in his prayer for the Colossian church.

“We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light” (Col. 1:9b-12).

There are things that we do (walk worthy, grow in knowledge, bear fruit, give thanks with joy), but we do them because of what God has done for us in Christ, through His power, and with hope in His faithfulness. He is the source of, the motivation for, and the means of our perseverance. But He does expect us to participate. Our expressions of faith today feed our future faithfulness. We can persevere in them in every season because unlike circumstances that shift with change, Christ is our constant.

Perhaps, like the character in the book I loved so much, you’re bending beneath an unwieldy season of suffering. Or maybe you’re riding a wave of peace with no detectable troubles below the surface. Whatever circumstances are wrapped around you right now, you are as desperate for the constancy of Christ on your best day as you are on your worst day. Don’t hold back. Feast or famine, your soul needs nourishment that comes from the Word. And when it comes to the Word, in any and all circumstances, it’s always a feast.

Our expressions of faith today feed our future faithfulness. We can persevere in them in every season because unlike circumstances that shift with change, Christ is our constant. Share on X

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