Perseverance…continuing in spite of difficulty. I may be an expert on this topic. But before discussing that, I need to address another matter.

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Years ago, I made a note in my journal. “I don’t love doing this.” The Lord had given an assignment and I’d grown weary.

“It all looks hopeless,” I whined. Before the ink dried, a sweet voice in my spirit reminded me, “Focus on God, not hopeless circumstances.”

Much time has passed since I recorded those thoughts, and sometimes I still need encouragement to persevere.

My friend Donna enjoys crafts. Surprised to learn she’d abandoned a favorite project to begin something new, I asked why.

She said, “It wasn’t fun anymore.”

Perseverance is what we do when it isn’t fun anymore.

Perseverance is what we do when it isn't fun anymore. Click To Tweet

When life dumps us in places that aren’t much fun, we keep going through sheer determination of the will—and confidence in the God who put us there.

Recently I interviewed my biblical friend, Noah. I suspect his middle name is “Perseverance.”

Before I share our imaginary conversation, here’s the back story.

The Lord saw the wickedness of man…thinking evil continually.

“And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind,  whom I have created from the face of the ground—not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air—for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them’” (Genesis 6:6-7 Amp.)

In this wicked culture, “Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord” (6:8). And God chose him for a mighty work.

He instructed Noah to build an ark—a massive vessel to carry him, his family, and two of every living thing—fowls and birds, beasts, every creeping thing.

Can you say mind-boggling? I asked Noah about this extreme assignment.

Q: How did it happen, that encounter with God?

“It was out of nowhere! I was minding my own business…taking care of the family…enjoying constant fellowship with God. Out of the blue he starts talking to me—about imminent destruction…rain coming…he needed someone to build an ark.”

Q: How did you respond?

“My firsts thought was, Who, me? This whole thing was overwhelming! I wasn’t up to such an assignment. What would people think about this absolutely inconceivable project? Early on, I told a few neighbors hoping to spare them the dreadful outcome. They just mocked.

“When I started gathering materials and actually began construction, they joked, ‘Old man Noah obviously suffers from dementia!’ Seeing no rain and no river, they laughed hysterically, yelling, ‘Bon voyage!’ Despite the ridicule, my sons and I kept pounding the nails, one board at a time.

Q: Did you ever grow weary?

“Oh, yes. Every day I mumbled to myself, ‘I don’t love doing this.’”

Q: How did you manage to stay on course and finish the work?

“I had a calling from God. He gave clear instructions. And he never abandoned me.”

Noah did all that God commanded him (Genesis 6:22 and 7:5). He built the ark…one board at a time.

God sent the animals. Noah rounded up the family and the food. They got on board, the Lord shut the door, and the rains came.

Noah persevered when it wasn’t fun. And the ark he built preserved a remnant of God’s people.

When all looks hopeless, I remind myself to focus on God, not hopeless circumstances.

When all looks hopeless, I remind myself to focus on God, not hopeless circumstances. Click To Tweet

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:27, 17).

Have you practiced perseverance when it wasn’t fun, when you didn’t love doing it? Please leave a comment. And share this post with friends who need encouragement today.

© Dianne Barker 2018