{"id":199,"date":"2016-03-01T20:48:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T20:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=199"},"modified":"2017-02-22T03:39:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T03:39:06","slug":"steps-to-success-part-1-perseverance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/03\/steps-to-success-part-1-perseverance.html","title":{"rendered":"The Blessings That Come from Perseverance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"holding<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMay you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.\u201d
\nColossians 1: 11-12<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We all face times in life when we feel overwhelmed. Our To Do List is too long.\u00a0 Or the people who are closest to us are creating stress instead of making our lives easier.\u00a0 Or we feel that the problems that we are facing are too big to handle.\u00a0 Everyone has such moments at one time or another.\u00a0 That is an unavoidable part of life.\u00a0 What successful people do in those times is to persevere<\/em>.\u00a0 They plow through when it all seems too much, and they come out blessed on the other side.<\/p>\n

I love the metaphor of \u201cplowing.\u201d That is exactly what we are called to do sometimes.\u00a0 We are called to plow through our troubles.\u00a0 We are called to plow through the day when life isn’t going according to plan.\u00a0 We are called to plow through that stack of responsibilities that seems two stories tall.<\/p>\n

Think of someone plowing a field. They are pushing aside the excess dirt and rocks to create a place where they can plant seeds.\u00a0 When we plow through tough times, we are doing the same.\u00a0\u00a0 We are getting rid of projects, stress and problems.\u00a0 What is left behind is a place in which good things can grow.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t plow, you are left with untilled earth.\u00a0 You have soil, but it hasn\u2019t been prepared for planting.\u00a0 You can\u2019t do anything with it.\u00a0 Likewise, if you don\u2019t persevere, while you may have skills, you haven’t created the right environment for those skills to blossom into success.<\/p>\n

The ability to persevere is what allows some people to achieve success in spite of their obstacles. Think about Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0 He had so many setbacks and yet he achieved great success.\u00a0 He went from having a failing business to being defeated multiple times when running for public office to eventually becoming one of the greatest, if not the greatest<\/em>, president we\u2019ve ever had.\u00a0 His life exemplifies the power of perseverance.<\/p>\n

Significantly, the time that we spend persevering isn\u2019t wasted time. The experience changes us fundamentally.\u00a0 If you have been dealt blows and had disappointments, you will be more compassionate toward others who are suffering.\u00a0 If you have faced your challenges head on and come out successfully, you will have greater self-confidence than you would otherwise.\u00a0 And if you\u2019ve known what it is like to be hurt or to fail, and you\u2019ve had to turn to God and say, \u201cHelp me,\u201d you will be more faithful.\u00a0 Having those kinds of personality traits will make you a better leader.\u00a0 You will be more effective in your work.\u00a0 And you undoubtedly will have better relationships.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t allow life\u2019s setbacks to get the better of you. Persevere.<\/em> If you do, you will come out better than you were before.\u00a0 You will gain experience, humility and decency.\u00a0 God then can use those qualities to have you do greater things with your life and\u00a0be His representative on earth.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n

Follow me at https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMay you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.\u201d Colossians 1: 11-12 We all face times in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-perseverance"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Blessings That Come from Perseverance - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/03\/steps-to-success-part-1-perseverance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Blessings That Come from Perseverance - 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