When Things Don't Go Your Way, Persevere

Have you ever wanted a pair of shoes you want, but when you go to buy them, they don't have your size? Upsetting, right? There's nothing more unsettling than when things don't go your way. We have hopes and dreams, and when we fail to fulfill them, what should we do?

We should keep on trying; we should persevere. I know it is troubling and frustrating when things do not go the way we planned. I know how challenging it is to keep on walking when everything you see is contrary to what you want and when you only see failure. I know how unsettling it is to think you are finally looking at the end of the tunnel, and you find out there are one more obstacles to overcome. It is frustrating when you assume you are finally getting to resting pastures, but suddenly the unexpected happens, and it takes away the peace. Even though it is hard and difficult to keep on going, we must do everything in our power to do so because if we stop, if we quit, then we are truly lost.

No matter what your eyes are seeing and how many times you stumble, the key is to get up and continue walking with the confidence that the One who walks by your side is Greater than any circumstance. He has already defeated the devil, and He has already granted us the Victory. God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. -Numbers 23:19-20.

The key is to let go of our burdens and worries and rest in Him, knowing that He fulfills all His promises. It sounds easy to say, but it is not like that; believing when everything is fine is a piece of cake, but believing when everything your eyes see is contrary to what you want is a challenge. It is blindly trusting and leaving everything in His hands, resting in Him.

I believe that 2 Corinthians 5:7 sums up what the life of a Christian should be; a constant walk in FAITH. It has not been easy. It has been a process of pain, fatigue, and struggles, but it has never been in vain. Every time we've been about to hang our gloves and quit, He reminds us how much he loves us and that we are blessed. He makes us surrender to his plans, and once again, we believe. Believing is something of every day; it is a daily decision.

In each of our trials, we learned to depend on God. If I were to choose a word to describe our lives, it would be perseverance. Thanks to the infinite mercy of God, we have been able to continue walking even when what our eyes see is contrary to what we know that God wants for us. I can say that little by little, our character has been and continues to be molded by our Almighty.

Walking in faith implies sacrifice, it means doing things that in the eyes of others seem crazy, but in the eyes of God, it is a vote of confidence. It is telling God that we trust His will. It is a sign of complete surrender to Him.

I won't deny that there have been moments of fatigue and that sometimes, doubt and discouragement have invaded us. It has happened a few times, but God has always sent key people (I call them angels) in our path with words of encouragement and comfort. He has NEVER put us to shame. He has always sustained us, comforted, and helped us. If it weren't for Him, we would surely not be where we are today; we would never have been able to PERSEVERE.

TO PERSEVERE, in its Greek "PROSKARTEREO" means to attend constantly, continue without deviations, and adhere firmly. Biblically, there are many men and women whose perseverance in Christ and His promises led them to receive great blessings and miracles even better than what they desired. One of these men was Naaman, who wanted an immediate cure for his leprosy, but God wanted to confront him, so He demanded an act of faith from him.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean?14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 5:11-14.

God could have healed him instantly, just as he can answer our prayers in seconds, much more before we ask him, but sometimes He wants us to obey Him and take steps of faith. Sometimes God demands action from us. Naaman could have given up, or on his second plunge, he could have gotten tired and not continued, but Naaman decided to believe and received complete healing from Him.

Another man in the Bible whose perseverance is admirable is Job, who despite the horrendous of his circumstances, decided to see beyond them, never stopped believing in God, and trusted Him. God rewarded Job's perseverance. Another example is the Canaanite woman, who although Jesus did not answer her the first time, she persevered and kept insisting until she received the miracle.

Walking through the valley of shadow and death brings us closer to the Light that is Christ in our lives. He makes us stronger. He is molding a character in us. When we feel weak, unable to do something, frustrated, or defeated, He comes and makes things better. And He said to me: My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will rather gladly glory in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Many times we have thought, Lord, why did this happen? And we realize that God warned us, but we ignored his warnings and turned a deaf ear to his cry: and that is when, due to our stubbornness, we crashed against the wall and made mistakes that caused us to fail. God does not want us to go through afflictions to reach Him, but He cannot force anyone; He lets us walk the paths we choose. He gives us the freedom to be the ones who make the decisions, but He is always by our side, waiting for us to open the door and let him take control of our lives. Let us allow Him to give us peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3

I thank God because he has kept us away from quitting. I thank Him for all He has done in the past years and what He does for us every day. He has brought us closer to Him. In the trial, God transforms us and cleanses us from all iniquity. He frees us from old wounds and helps us overcome any obstacle. He shows us His infinite love for us! Trust God, just walk without fear of what they will say, and open your wings because the wind comes in your favor and will take you back to the right path; it will propel you towards your VICTORY. Cry out to God, and He will answer you.

Ps: If you feel tired and troubled by so many problems. If what your eyes are seeing is not what you expected, you are tired of waiting and think you are about to quit; I invite you to send me a message or comment on this post. I want to pray for you.