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#and anything encouraging the perseverance of the human spirit is worth repeating
cupophrogs · 2 months
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Oliver just
Gently does this to Drew's leg.
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“Cherub is a mind boggling balance of incredibly brave, and horrifically stupid. He handles things maturely, especially for one so detached from the suffering of this place, very often to his own detriment. Placing little value on his own state, and thus “risking it for the biscuit” far too much. Still, he is one who loves deeply, fiercely. And to allow such an Angel to damn himself for another, would be a sin most grievous.”
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missjezzamariev · 5 years
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grow what you go through.
One thing I am learning is keeping my ego in check. Just because someone does not choose you, does not mean you’re not worth anything. It simply just means that there is a better fit for someone out there for the both of you.
What I mean to keep my “ego in check” is to make sure you believe that it is not about you. Being one who went through this before, to a point where he was introduced to my whole entire family, the people I love and care the most and am super protective of and of course never wants to see me hurt, was to see him again with another person in front of them other than me. 
It took me a bit to accept it and accept my ego being hurt, especially having my whole family to witness it. I can imagine if one was to ever meet my family, I know the pressure and will never put anyone through it unless I know without doubt that he can handle it-- especially being highly protected by almost everyone. Now somehow going through it again, a part of me believes that things will keep repeating in my life until I learn from it. I cannot control what people feel about me. It’s a part of life. If someone does not see things going any further with you, you have to gracefully let it go. If they date someone else, then I cannot be mad or bitter, simply because there are people in life that are a better fit for them.
In the end, it will never be about you, no matter how much you’d like to think that way, but what matters is your character, your grace, and strength in allowing things to let things go and continuously persevere in hope and prayer that one day God will give you what your every heart desires, the emotional needs, the communication, your standards, etc. It’s also not about what you give to them either. All the decisions that I’ve made were on me and I learn from it quick as I can. In the meantime, keep going, keep encouraging, keep lifting up spirits, and love unconditionally-- because simply this is what I am meant and am made to do. I will always choose to love unconditionally, i’ll continue to guard my heart and keep up with the lessons, and be wise with whom I talk to, but the only reason I am able to love so well, is because I know my God, and He fills me with an endless amount of love that no human can ever do by themselves.
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betsyhavekost91 · 6 years
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Faithful.
I want to get to the end of my life on earth and hear Jesus say the words of Matthew 25: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” But let’s just be honest: life isn’t easy. Some seasons are easier than others, some are more difficult. And in the day-to-day, the “work-eat-sleep-repeat,” the ups and downs of it all, I get weary. I get burned out. And I don’t think I am the only one.
God often teaches me through themes that keep surfacing in my life. This spring, that theme was hope. (I still need to take time to sit down and write out what He showed me. I mean, it’s only December, right?). In this season, the words faithful, steadfast, and perseverance have been prevalent.
Maybe it’s because I have been seeking truth and encouragement specifically regarding persevering and remaining steadfast in my weariness.
Why fight weariness anyway?
I went on a mission trip the summer before my senior year of college, and I raised money to be able to go on the trip. After sharing about our vision for the trip at my home church, a woman (whom I can’t even remember specifically) came up to me and said “Thanks for sharing about your trip and your passion! I remember what it was like to be on fire for Jesus in college.”
(Cue fear.) WAIT. Is that how this all works? My desire to know Christ and my passion to live my life for His glory to be seen in me will fade? WHOA. How do I keep that from happening? 
That simple statement sparked something in me. I don’t want that sentence to become my reality. I don’t want to someday speak in the past tense about passionately pursuing Christ and His kingdom. It has lit a fire in me to fight against weariness and battle to sustain my fervor. I told a friend of mine the other day that I feel like so many of the things God teaches me are related. He keeps bringing me back to perspective again and again and again. (So this is a disclaimer: don’t go read any of my other blogs, or you might see a similar, repetitive theme.)
For me to someday be called a “good and faithful servant” by my heavenly Father, I need to continually set my heart and my eyes on Him, the One who is faithful. Here are several truths I have been clinging to regarding the Faithful One and persevering faithfully. 
I must look up, look ahead, look beside, and look back in order to walk faithfully past my ripe old age of 26 on toward eternity.
Look up toward Jesus- the perfect example of faithful, steadfast perseverance.
I am self-absorbed enough to think that my trials are pretty big. I get discouraged and disappointed when things don’t go as I planned. I get tuckered out by my schedule and my pace of life. I get discouraged by attempting to pour out but not seeing instant growth or harvest. Hey Bets? It turns out that Jesus faced stuff that was a little bigger than all of your trials combined. Hebrews 12 gives a heart-check and perseverance boost all in one. 
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3
I am called to persevere in the race God has set before me. (Note: The race marked out for me differs from the race marked out for my sister, for my best friend, for my roommate, for my parents. But the finish line is the same.)
Where should my eyes be? Not on me, not on my weariness, not on the size of the trial I am facing, not on my disappointment, not on another’s race. But on Him. The command to fix my eyes on Jesus reminds me of a story in Numbers 21.
Numbers 21:The Israelites got impatient and started to complain, and God sent venomous snakes among them, which killed them if they were bitten. The people realized they had sinned and asked Moses to pray to remove the snakes, so Moses prayed. Verses 8-9 say: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” 
So maybe there aren’t venomous snakes in my apartment, but when I’m in the midst of my own complaining or impatience or weariness, I need to look up and fix my eyes on Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, just as the Israelites had to look up in order to see the snake on the pole and live. Looking toward Him and His perseverance in the midst of all He faced is perspective-shifting in a way that gives life.
How do I gain hope for perseverance? Consider Him. He authored and initiated my faith, and He is the perfecter of my faith, the finisher of what He started. And look what He did for me, to make me His own: He looked ahead to the joy of relationship with us humans and, because of that, endured the torture, shame, and curse of the cross. He lived perfectly, endured faithfully, died sacrificially, rose victoriously, and now intercedes continually on my behalf. He endured hardship and opposition to an nth degree beyond anything I will ever face. If He did, I can sure try. 
“Consider Him so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Boom, that simple. Perspective shift combats weariness.)
I need to keep looking to Him and reminding myself that whatever it is I face here, it is worth it. And that He is entirely worthy.
Look ahead to the unseen- the sure hope of eternity and the reality that it will all be so worth it.
I have heard it said that we are in the dress rehearsal for the real deal that is to come. Yet how quickly I still get caught up in the cares and comforts of this life rather than living for what is eternal. Scripture makes it very clear and apparent that the best is still yet to come. And that when we get to what is next, it will be entirely worth it all. Here are some of my favorites as of late that challenge me to keep kicking-- to go where I’m sent, stay where I’m put, and give what I’ve got - all the way home.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
“Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 1 Corinthians 1:7-9
“And we, who with unveiled face all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lost heart.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-4:1
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:3 
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:24-27
“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. “James 5:8
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11
“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and say with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21
More than it being worth it in the end, it is worth it to walk faithfully with Him starting right now. There is a sweetness to knowing that I don’t face any day alone and that I never show up on the scene first -all because He walks before me and with me through every moment of every day. That, in itself, is a reason to be encouraged rather than grow weary. (Shameless plug for Deuteronomy 31:8- one of my all-times faves. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”) 
Look beside to see those running faithfully. Perseverance is a lot easier with people along for the ride.
We weren’t created to live this life in isolation. 
Adam wasn’t left alone in Genesis. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for God to fulfill His promise, and they waited together. Paul was like the “man of all men,” and he took buddies along on his missionary journeys. Jesus sent the disciples out in twos. Community matters.
Long-live the classic dad line of finding a significant other/spouse: “Run toward Christ, and then look to see who is running beside you on the same track.” 
Or the Elisabeth Elliot quote: “I wanted to marry a man prepared to swim against the tide.” 
But take those truths out of the spouse-seeking context, and they hit home in life, too. Running next to people who are like-minded and like-hearted, who are passionately pursuing Christ and swimming against the tide- that is something God uses so greatly in spurring me to persevere. 
When my dad talks about patients he shared the Gospel with this week. When one of my dear friends shares about reading the Bible with her friend. When my sister ministers faithfully to high school girls and invests intentionally in her marriage and family. When my brother-in-law asks the hard questions and intentionally loves on his basketball and tennis kiddos. When one of my favorite women and role models humbly shares what God is teaching her from time in the Word and talks about ways she is serving her family. When mentors who have 25 years on me share wisdom they’ve gained and demonstrate excitement when talking about people they are investing in and questions they are asking about the Word. When my best friend challenges my thoughts on a familiar passage of scripture. When my youth pastor tells me how my little brother is reaching out to freshmen and loving them so well. When my roommate shares her heart and the things God is teaching her. When my little brother loves our littler brother so well. When a younger believer has new eyes for the truth of the Word and can’t get enough, and when she asks the best questions. When my mom serves willingly and gives generously so others might see Jesus. When women in my Bible Study dig into the Word deeply and walk hand-in-hand through the trials of life. When coworkers love people well and write sweet notes that encourage me to do the same. When my little sister rearranges her schedule and priorities to have more time to love on girls in her house. When new friends so evidently are intentional about using their time and passions and resources to love the people God has placed in their sphere of influence. When young families welcome me into their lives, parent their children faithfully, and love their neighbors intentionally.
That is what gets and keeps my blood pumping. We weren’t meant to run this race alone. Think about it- most races have more than one person registered :) 
“The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow, I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up- one on one side, one on the other- so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” Exodus 17:8-13
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Philippians 2:1-2
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first.” Hebrews 3:12-14
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
So, to my incredible family, my faithful friends, my sweet community in Lincoln, the people who challenge and encourage me from a distance, the ones who hold me accountable and study the Word with me and share how God is at work, and to the ones who don’t even know that their lives encourage me-- thank you. 
Look back upon and remember the works of the One who is faithful.
I was reading in Psalm 91 a few weeks ago, and verse 4 stuck out in a new way to my heart.
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:4
Cool verses, eh? Yeah, I thought so too. But I had to think a little longer about that second part. How exactly is His faithfulness my shield and rampart? And, what on earth is a rampart, really? I got a little journal-happy with reflecting on the faithfulness of God toward me and how it is a shield and rampart to my heart.
Rampart: (Thanks, Webster) a tall, thick stone or dirt wall that is built around a castle, town, etc to protect it from attacks.
Cue my journal entry:  
When the enemy shoots arrows of doubt and lies my way- Your faithfulness is my shield and protection. Your faithfulness is my safeguard, my bunker, my barrier and stronghold. Through reminding my heart and soul of Your faithfulness, I can combat doubt and lies and insecurities and fears. I can combat complacency and apathy and anxiety. I can combat disappointment, discouragement, and distrust.
Your faithfulness is evident in how You have rescued me, walking with me in each and every season, been gracious to me in so many little and big ways, displayed Your sovereignty in such evident ways, been faithful to provide perfectly for me financially, emotionally, spiritually, and with community, carried me through seasons of uncertainty and unknown, healed my heart in seasons of hurt and rejection, led me in times of ambiguity, refined my heart through hard stuff, displayed Your love and presence so clearly in seasons of change and seasons of sameness, and showed Yourself to be so good in it all.
Thank you for:
Your faithfulness to continue teaching me deeper things about Your character. Your faithfulness to bring Your Word to life and light in new ways, even after I read a passage I’ve read six times before. Your faithfulness to show Your sufficiency in every season of my life. Your faithfulness in pursuing me despite my flaws and failures and apathy. Your faithfulness in reminding my heart of the bigger purpose of this life- that I am here for You and Your kingdom and not for my own comfort or happiness. Your faithfulness to love me despite me. Your faithfulness to place people in my path who spur me on and challenge the bent toward complacency that rests in me. Your faithfulness to provide songs with lyrics that speak words my soul hadn’t yet formed. Your faithfulness in answering prayer that I would be able to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Your faithfulness to make my prayer powerful and effective- even if the power and effectiveness is actually evidenced through you changing my heart rather than my circumstances.
Your faithfulness for continual second chances when I place efficiency ahead of people at work or miss opportunities to speak boldly on Your behalf. Your faithfulness in timing of oh so many circumstances in my life and timing of lessons You are teaching me. Your faithfulness to show your love in tangible ways- through sunsets and nature and people and Your Word. Your faithfulness to reveal that I don’t need to try to be someone outgoing or popular to be used by You- but that You can use me in the specific ways You have gifted me. Your faithfulness to bring insecurities to light and shine truth into those areas. Your faithfulness to provide those truths to claim over my life- and to see visible evidences of Your hand continually forming me. Your faithfulness to continue the work You have begun in me. Your faithfulness to provide mentors who are further down the road than me, still walking faithfully and passionately with You-who give hope that it is possible to not fade in zeal for You. Your faithfulness to be a source and fount of peace regardless of my situation. Your faithfulness to teach me that joy is more than circumstantial and fleeting happiness- rather it is rooted in the hope that I have in Jesus for eternity- something so sure, certain, unchanging, and uncompromised that it can’t be squelched by circumstantial pain or hardship or trials.
Your faithfulness to keep reminding me of the simplicity of the Gospel and my need for a Savior- yet at the same time, baffling me by the complexity of Your grace and justice and mercy. Your faithfulness to show me the importance of hope in this life- and how You allow me to be an agent of that hope to my patients who sit in such desperate, hopeless, devastating situations. Your faithfulness to allow me to so tangibly see Your heart for restoration and for the brokenness of life through my job- and Your faithfulness to allow me to be a part of the restoration process. Your faithfulness in revealing my prejudiced, judgmental, prideful heart and placing me amongst specific patients, challenging me to love all people simply because You created them, You love them, and You give them inherent worth. Your faithfulness in teaching me to work and walk faithfully in the little things and the mundane while praying for the big things and the miraculous. Your faithfulness to make that so relatable and relevant to my job each day. Your faithfulness to remind me how incredibly blessed I am to be able to walk and breathe and eat and move without assistance.
Your faithfulness to never give me more than I can handle. Your faithfulness to give rest when I desperately need it. Your faithfulness to work in and through my mess. Your faithfulness to make me aware of the countless times each day that I shift from hoping in You to hoping in someone or something other. Your faithfulness to remind me that You are not a man, that You should lie, nor a son of man that You should change your mind---that You don’t change your mind about me. Your faithfulness to keep choosing me, pursuing me, and wanting me. Your faithfulness to not reject me.
Your faithfulness to provide spiritual conversations with grandpa in his last weeks. Your faithfulness to show the depth of Your love for helpless humans by providing a living, breathing analogy of that fact through my sweet niece. Your faithfulness to work in my apathy toward people’s souls and grow my heart for lost people. Your faithfulness in the slow and steady of work just as much as in the busy of school. Your faithfulness to teach me continually about the benefits of the season I’m in. Your faithfulness to remind me that the very best place to be is in the center of Your will. Your faithfulness to use my awkwardness, my love of puns, and my love of baking for Your kingdom. Your faithfulness to provide so many reasons to laugh in the day-to-day of life. Your faithfulness to provide new friendships that are life-giving.
And the list can go on and on and on. Take a minute to make your own list and you’ll experience that shield and rampart for yourself.
It is in remembering who He is and how He has been faithful that I am given strength and energy and hope to persevere. He has been faithful in the past. And if He has been faithful in the past, He will continue to be faithful now. And He will surely continue to be faithful in the days and weeks and months and years to come.
I can persevere boldly because He intercedes faithfully on my behalf, He is victorious now and in the end, He is gracious to choose to use me as His ambassador, He is ever-present in my midst, and He is entirely sovereign and good.
Dwelling on His faithfulness is, in essence, remembering what He has done (and remembering that He acts in that manner because of who He is: Faithful. He can be nothing but that.) 
God calls the Israelites to this very thing in Deuteronomy: to remember. He knows the limits of our human minds and knows that we are quick to forget who He is, the ways He has worked, the victory that is ours simply because He is on our side.
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you- a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant- then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:10-12
“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.” Deuteronomy 8:2
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble you and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this for wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 8:10-18
As if this post isn’t already a million words long, I have a few more thoughts. 
There is hope that perseverance is possible, that zeal can be sustained.
I came across this verse in the past few months, and have clung to it like nobody’s business. (But seriously, God has used it to combat my fear of fading in zeal and effectiveness with age.)
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”  Psalm 92:12-15
There is hope to bear fruit in old age, past the prime of my college years. I can stay fresh and green and vibrant. The righteous ones of whom this is true are those whose soul trusts and rests in the character of God: proclaiming truth that He is upright, my Rock, and perfectly holy.
I have mentors and parents who exemplify this verse, and I praise God for their example. My heart is encouraged by the men and women who are 20 years beyond me and still spending regular time in the Word, intentionally pursuing relationships with people for the glory of God, and excited about the ways the Lord is working in their lives. I just pray this verse will also be true of my life in my “old age.”
(FFOTD- Fun Fact of the Day: The Cedar of Lebanon was what David and Solomon used to build their palaces and what Solomon used to build the temple, and they grow to up to 130 feet in height. (CE-DAR (see there)- that’s pretty cool. Puns just don’t have the same effect in written form, but I don’t apologize.)
I can persevere because He is a sure hope.
Of all things I could put my hope in, He is the only One who is entirely reliable, unfailing, constant, and sure. I, however, am quick to shift my hope from Him to people or reputation or security --and my heart is so prone to wander that it happens subconsciously. These are just a few of the verses God has used to convict me regarding where I should be placing my hope.
“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5
“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” Psalm 25:21
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7 
“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114
“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 119:147
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:13 
I can persevere because He is the One who sustains.
Mmm. What a good truth to cling to- that I don’t have to be faithful in and of myself, but that His Spirit within me can empower me to walk faithfully and energize me to press on.
“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” Exodus 15:13  
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12
“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” Psalm 54:4
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Psalm 55:22
“Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:2-24
Wow do I have so much to learn in this life. What I do know is that my God is utterly faithful, and that it is worth it to keep trekking toward knowing Him more intimately and loving people deeply. To do that, I need to set my eyes and hope upon Jesus Christ and upon His Word (through which I know more of Him and of His incredible, unchanging character; am reminded that He is victorious; and see examples of those who walked faithfully because of His faithfulness- and how it was so worth it).
He is steadfast love. He is faithful. He is worthy. 
“All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Psalm 25:10
“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.” Psalm 92:1-2
“I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” Psalm 138:2
And listen to this song, because it is so stinking good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPnsASn7PDI
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