Finding the Strength to Persevere

About

This week, The Redeemed founder Paul Amos and director Nate Dewberry offer thoughts on the topic of perseverance: How do we do it? Why do we do it? And how do our struggles make us stronger, better people?

When Jesus tells the crowd, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” many of us misinterpret that to mean that everything becomes easier when we start following Jesus. While that’s not the case, God does provide the strength to persevere through our challenges, and someone who shoulders our burdens when life becomes too much to bear. We hope this week’s episode shows you a new perspective on the struggles you’ve encountered in your life, and thoughtful guidance for managing those yet to come.

Show Notes

Segment chapters

Think about it

Sit with these before you say anything out loud.

The thrill of victory.

(3:04) Think back to a time when you had to endure a series of difficult challenges that made you wonder when they would ever end—but once you came out the other side of that period, you felt an amazing sense of accomplishment. Why was that moment so exhilarating to you? Were there times when you considered giving up, and how did you manage to keep from doing so? James 1:2–4

What made my life a struggle:

What God taught me through it:

What kept me from giving up:

A marathon, not a sprint.

(7:53) Continuing with the previous question, looking back, how did God use that season to shape you? What developed in you through perseverance that might not have developed otherwise? Romans 5:3–5

How I was transformed:

How the long wait made it more meaningful:

Talk it out

These are worth saying out loud in a group, with a brother, or with God himself.

His presence, not a promise of an easy life.

(12:25) Have you ever assumed that following Jesus meant life should become easier? How have you learned the difference between trusting God to remove a hardship and trusting Him to sustain you through it? Matthew 11:28–30, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 

Learning to surrender control.

(14:55) In times of crisis, how difficult is it for you to trust God with outcomes you cannot control? What areas of your life are hardest for you to surrender to Him? Proverbs 3:5–6, 1 Peter 5:6–7

Take action

Don’t let this stay in your head. Do something with it.

When a brother tells you the truth.

(18:46) Has there been a time in your life when your friend circle or community challenged you the way Paul’s small group did with him? What false front did you put up that they were able to see through so quickly? What was your immediate reaction when they did that, and how do you look back on it now? Proverbs 27:5–6

The façade that I put up:

What it felt like to get called on it:

What God showed me through that challenge:

The ones who give us what we want and what we need.

(25:15) Of the friends, family members, and mentors you’ve had over the course of your life, which ones did the best job of balancing accountability with encouragement, “tough love” and brotherly love? Describe how they challenged you, and how they built you up. Are you working to emulate that with anyone in your life right now? 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Galatians 6:1–2

The people who’ve helped me persevere:

How they’ve encouraged me, and how they’ve held me accountable:

How I’m trying to follow their example with others:

Closing

The love and grace of God do not promise us a life without hardship. Jesus never told us that following Him would make every burden disappear. Instead, He invites us to trust Him in the middle of what we cannot fix, control, or understand.

Biblical perseverance is not simply gritting our teeth and trying harder. It is continuing to trust and follow Christ when the road is long. God meets us in our weakness, gives us grace for what lies ahead, and often uses difficult seasons to shape our character, deepen our faith, and teach us greater dependence on Him.

Has today’s episode changed the way you see a difficulty you are facing? Instead of asking only, “When will this be over?” consider asking, “God, how are You asking me to trust You here?”

You may not be able to control the outcome. You may not even see a quick resolution. But you can fix your eyes on Jesus, receive the strength He provides, lean on the brothers He has placed around you, and faithfully take the next step.

Hebrews 12:1–2 (NIV): “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”