“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

The Power of Perseverance

Every day, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge looks at the note he has on his phone. It says .179, Judge’s batting average in 2016, his first season in the majors. In addition to hitting .179, the young slugger struck out on 44 percent of his plate appearances. Despite his early struggles at the MLB level, Judge never allowed himself to get too discouraged and got to work trying to learn and grow as a hitter. A year later, Judge finished second in the AL MVP race, hit 52 home runs, and is one of the brightest young stars in baseball.

When we rely on God in the midst of tough times, we can grow in our faith and our relationship with Christ. It is often at our lowest points where we feel most connected to God if we put our trust in Him. No matter what we are going through, God will always be with us every step of the way.

In our walk with Christ, things aren’t always going to be fun or easy. At times, our faith will be challenged. The question then becomes how we are going to respond. If we lean on and trust in God through the good times as well as the bad, we can find comfort in His unfailing love and perfect will. We can persevere through every trial that comes our way with God’s help and guidance!

– Joshua Doering

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