In our life of following Jesus how do we persevere? Despite what life throws at us, how do we stay resilient and keep going despite everything? In this talk Nick looks at how we respond when life is tough, how do we keep going and not give up. How there is a lot more going on than we might think.
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
In his Sermon entitled “Shattered Dreams” Dr Martin Luther King said:
Some of us of course, will die without ever having received the realization of freedom, but we must continue to sail on our charted course. We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
Only in this way shall we be able to live without the fatigue of bitterness and the drain of resentment. This was the secret of the survival of our slave fore-parents. …When a new morning offered only the same long rows of cotton, sweltering heat, and the rawhide whip of the overseer, these brave and courageous men and women dreamed of the brighter day. They had no alternative except to accept the fact of slavery, but they clung tenaciously to the hope of freedom.
In a seemingly hopeless situation, they fashioned within their souls a creative optimism that strengthened them.
Our capacity to deal creatively with shattered dreams is ultimately determined by our faith in God. Genuine faith imbues us with the conviction that beyond time is a divine Spirit and that beyond life is Life.
However dismal and catastrophic may be the present circumstance, we know that we are not alone, for God dwells with us. God’s creative power is not exhausted by this earthly life, nor is his majestic love locked within the limited walls of time and space. Even if we die without having received the earthly promise, he shall lead us down that mysterious road called death and at last to that indescribable city he has prepared for us. Our earthly life is a prelude to a glorious new awakening, and our death is an open door that leads us into life eternal.
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