A Journey of Perseverance and Overcoming

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Hoping is persevering. It is getting up every morning with the belief that your day has purpose. It is the understanding that God is working in you, in your life, and in the hearts and lives of the people that surround you. It extends beyond your front porch and into the world. It is putting on the full armor of God and battling against the enemy, and it is rejoicing because you know the battle is already won.

“rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,”
Romans 12:12 New American Standard Bible

This verse is also surrounded by a long list of things we are called to do through the strength of Christ. This year I chose to focus on these three specifically and I learned how much they are intertwined.

I took this picture at our church women’s retreat this fall. This is the last piece of a hike to the cross at the top of Cedar mountain. As you can see we still have the task of getting from where I took the picture over to and up the ladder towards the left, and then up the rocky wall to the top. It seemed impossible. We had to persevere, going over rocky terrain, finding footholds, and trying to enjoy the view without thinking about how far down we could fall. I have no doubt that at least some of us were devoted to prayer during this time. Still we could rejoice in hope, knowing we had made it this far and that many others had completed the same task before us. Most importantly we could see our goal.

Sometimes life can look like a huge obstacle for us to conquer. What if it is more about the journey of overcoming? As we persevere we can rejoice, knowing that Christ has already won the victory that matters. We can help, love, and strengthen one another. The more God brings us through the more our hope in what He has done for us increases. We learn to trust Him and all that the cross accomplished.

Photo and Text Copyright Richelle Hecker