Hang in There?

How many times have you told someone to just hang in there? We say that to those in a tough time as a means of encouragement, but can I suggest something a little more intentional?

Invite perseverance. Hanging in there speaks of trudging along and doing your best not to drown in whatever storm you're facing.

I was reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers earlier this week, and this is what he had to say about perseverance:

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than hanging on...perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered...that Jesus Christ will be defeated...Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

Let's remind each other that people with the hope of Christ do not just hang in there. We persevere, knowing that even if we face disappointment, there is the greater purpose of God at work.