It was Monday night. The temperature was slowly bottoming out and there was anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snow on the ground.
The coffee shop was well lit and welcoming. Sweet coffee aromas wafted among the group of women who were gathering. Tables were pushed together and conversations began as soon as several women drew near each other. The only lull came when the leader called the ladies together.
Conversations quickly ended as anticipation filled the space. A sense of hunger and a craving for more than coffee was evident. Introductions followed and Isaiah 43:19 centered the women for the evening.
I find that women desire a chance to gather with other women. We draw closer through common interests, but find making connections is how we are wired. The beauty of this evening was the chance to dig into what God was teaching through Isaiah 43:19, but also the gift of give and take in the flow of a Jesus-led conversation.
As I led the women Monday evening, I hoped they left the coffee shop knowing how God continues to refine them as a new creation every morning. And also how they are gifted with perseverance just from the nature of being a child of God.
The last few weeks as we gathered here on Sundays we dived deeper into Romans 5:1-5. The first week we looked at peace and gave ourselves the challenge to embrace peaceful beginnings in our own lives. Last week, we read the Message version and found God on the other side of the door that we are already standing at. He opens the door at the exact time we need Him and provides what we need on the other side.
Today, let’s carve out a bit of time to understand perseverance. Romans 5:3-4 outlines it like this:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
A new year brings energy, a renewed motivation to accomplish all the things, and a list of goals/resolutions to keep us on the straight and narrow. As I shared my inability to persevere through a list of New Year resolutions to the women gathered at the coffee shop, I know now that God never once thought I was a failure.
Somehow, I desired a message of purpose and hope to break through the challenge of persevering through our goals. But how does a list transfer into a message?
What I know is how perseverance comes in the small, hard, and minute details of our lives. God takes our desire to complete each goal and matches it with His hope and motivation to reach the end. He stands in the gap between our lists and end goals and shows us His presence in every forward or backward step.
As a lover of creating lists, I know that giving up writing multiple goals places me in a better place of receiving all God has for me. In the past, I spent too much time beating myself up when I lost the will to persevere to complete a task on any given day.
Now I am intentional about persevering in my time with God. I journal all the things and press on in the quiet, morning stillness while getting to know Him better.
Perseverance comes in the small, hard and minute details of our lives. Click To TweetMonday night I shared that I need to do me and they need to do them. Goals are admirable and necessary. But if they overwhelm us rather than allow us to grow deeper in relationship with God, then we lose the path to perseverance.
All I know is that sticking with anything is hard. Giving up writing lists of resolutions gave me the freedom to persevere in a different way. Now I create the space for a daily brain dump in my journal. Each word and thought is a leaning into the truth of God.
Instead of berating myself for not accomplishing each goal, I am taking baby steps toward time with God. Each journaling session produces a perseverance that is growing my character. And that is enough.
Coffee and conversation brought the ladies in the door Monday night, but God and His truth led them home.
Sunday blessings,
Photo by Cyril Saulnier on Unsplash
So true. Surrendering our goals to Him, completely.
I resonate with what you share here. I am not a New Year’s resolution person. A list becomes an imperative that pushes me toward performance-based living and I have spent quite awhile trying to break the habit of believing my value is based on my performance.
These verses in Romans are some of my favorites. They provide a keen reminder of how character is built (perseverance, often through trial) and the path to hope.
You’re also right about how women are drawn to delve more deeply into relational connection with the Lord and each other than some may think if looking at women from the surface. It seems to me God has hard-wired us (for the most part) with a longing for a deeper level of friendship. I sometimes wonder if it is what was lost in Eden that we try to regain in so many ways (sometimes healthy and sometimes not).
Have a blessed day and week, Mary.
I find it so true, too, that while goals can be necessary, they can also “overwhelm us rather than allow us to grow deeper in relationship with God.” I used to beat myself up if I didn’t “perform” and do everything in my plan. I’m still a work-in-progress, but I’m trying to just “be” in Jesus and be more open-minded to His plan. 🙂 Thank you for this important reminder, Mary. Love and blessings to you!
This sounds like a lovely Monday evening group! “When two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them.” Matt. 18:20. Knowing God is with us makes all the difference.
As with your group, I have been focusing on Romans 5:3-4 recently, too. None of us like going through challenging times, but it is encouraging to remember that no matter how difficult things may be, God is working…and very often, doing a work in us! I’m welcoming that. The other day you were writing about your word for the year. Well, I have finally received mine – Hope. I am placing my hope in Him. God has always proved faithful. He has brought my family so far. I am welcoming the gift of faith and the blessing of hope, knowing He is doing a good work and we are safe in His hands.
I appreciate how you share so openly here in this space. Romans 5 is full of promises and the hope of Jesus. Knowing that perseverance produces character, which then produces hope is powerful. I’m praying for you as you open wide to receiving all God has for you.
… I’d have loved to have been at the coffee shop with you all, Mary …
And I would have loved for you to be there. There is something so beautiful about women gathering together. I love everything about it.
This post hits squarely the precept behind my approach to 2019. I have the word “persevere” spelled out in Scrabble letters on a window sill in my beautiful new kitchen, and even this was evacuated to a drawer yesterday to avoid the sawdust (and sheetrock dust and every other kind of dust) as we trimmed a window and laid down baseboards and then painted.
I’m content this year with open hands and a spirit of expectancy, which is not my norm, for sure. That “new thing” Isaiah draws our attention to is always shrouded in the mist of God’s foreknowledge, and, for once in my life, I’m content to wait for Him–knowing full well that today is all that I can manage with grace.
I love your reminder spelled out in Scrabble letters. I’m also appreciative that you are walking a similar journey as I. It makes it easier to know that the challenge of a year of expectancy is one I don’t have to do on my own. Looking forward to hear all you learn. Blessings!