The Art of Decision Making: Perseverance
Unlock the power of perseverance and unravel the challenges of starting and finishing well in the face of adversity.
Part 7: Perseverance
Thank you so much for going on this journey with me.
Today, I want to talk to you about leveling up your decision-making. The truth is, it’s hard to start and hard to finish well. When you start with a goal, you dream about the result. You begin the process of pre-deciding, and then you hit resistance. You may find yourself stalled with little to no progress, which may lead you to discouragement and feeling like giving up. If that’s you, keep reading.
Even if you are:
Restoring your relationship and it’s worse than before
Fighting for your marriage, and you’re running out of fight
Believing for a miracle for yourself, your child, or someone else, and things are getting worse
Trying to pray and believe, but you find yourself discouraged and losing hope
When you want to give up, pray
Remember, the direction of your life is determined by the quality of your decisions.
Finishing well is an idea that’s more important than most people realize. What do you think separates average people from amazing? What separates the fulfilled from the empty and the successful from those struggling? It’s not intelligence, appearance, talent, education, or who you know.
It’s perseverance: the drive to finish and the refusal to quit.
In a groundbreaking research study, Angela Duckworth asked, “What predicts success?” The answer is that grit has a lot to do with it. It can be defined as a strength of character that refuses to quit.
As we discover the art of decision-making, we can be finishers. Say to yourself, “When I commit, I don’t quit. I’m a finisher.”
Let's look at Paul's emotional farewell as we strengthen our perseverance and refuse to quit. It appears that Roman Emporer Nero sentenced Paul to be beheaded. Paul was awaiting execution in a deep dungeon underground. There was a sewage drain, and prisoners often died before execution. In the days before his beheading, Paul wrote to Timothy (Paul’s spiritual son):
2 Timothy 4:5–7 (ESV): “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Paul had finished his race. You have not finished yours. Even though you might feel discouraged and ready to give up, you’re not dead. Therefore, you are not done.
You have:
More to do, more to love, more people to help
Ministries to start, businesses to launch, content to create
Hope to share, friendships to make, addictions to break
God has more for you!
I can often feel overwhelmed with everything I feel God is leading me to do. I love this quote from David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done.
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.” -David Allen
Think about this for a moment. What have you left undone? We should be more concerned about what God has prompted us to do and not about season 4 of our favorite series.
Revelation 3:1–2 (ESV): “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”
What is your unfinished business?
Heal a broken relationship?
Share your faith?
Give what God told you to give?
Finish your degree?
Start a hobby?
Join your church?
Serve in your church?
Start a ministry?
Launch a business?
Drop 20 pounds?
Apologize?
2 Corinthians 8:10–11 (ESV): “And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.”
What does it matter if I quit?
Every decision you make is a vote toward your future. When you decide to quit, you say you don’t have what it takes. When you stand strong, persevere, and don’t back down, you say you are a finisher who can persevere. You’re saying, “When I commit, I don’t quit.”
There are seasons and circumstances where it’s more important to finish well than to win a prize. I remember playing baseball in middle school, and I hated it. I wasn’t a great athlete, and I wanted to quit. I remember getting some advice that quitting says more about me than anyone else, and what about the people who count on me? Was I going to abandon them?
Sometimes, making it to the end is a reward in itself. Today is the day you decide what kind of person you are. Do you quit in the face of adversity, or do you overcome?
My team went to the playoffs that year, and I remember thinking that even though I wasn’t the best player, I would give it my all. Although we didn’t come in first place, we made it to the end, and we could hold our heads high because we played well.
Let’s keep telling ourselves: “You may see me struggle, but you won’t see me quit. When I commit, I don’t quit. I am a finisher!”
Acts 20:24 (ESV): “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Many people miss the reason why Paul finished the race. He said he aims to finish his course and complete the ministry. When we have setbacks, we race harder despite persecution, opposition, pain, and obstacles. The reason why Paul could finish God’s race is that he wasn’t running for himself. He said, “I do not account my life of any value.”
For many of us, we consider our:
Personal comfort
Net worth
People’s opinions
Personal hopes and dreams
The secret to finishing the race God called you to run is to run for God. You take the next step. You don’t have to finish today. Take the next step.
Jesus gave us the best example of finishing well when He went to the cross and said, “It is finished.” The people hated him after celebrating his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem by waving palm branches and singing. What did Jesus do in return? He loved them back. When they struck Him, He turned the other cheek. When He fell carrying the cross, He stood and kept going. When they cursed Him, He forgave again. He asked His Father to forgive them because they did not know what they did. That is not the response you would expect from someone being tortured.
Thankfully, we don’t have to endure the kind of torture our Savior endured, but we can decide that when we commit, we won’t quit.
Committing looks like:
Saying another prayer
Making another call
Giving another gift
Sending another email
Running another mile
Memorizing another verse
Taking another lesson
Asking for another meeting
Talking to your child again
Praying for your child again
Forgiving again
Dream that dream. When you commit, don’t quit.
Philippians 1:6 (ESV): “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Why do people quit?
They think that quitting is an option. Whether it’s marriage, ministry, goals, or God himself, you may see me struggle, but you won’t see me quit.
Keep telling yourself, “When I commit, I don’t quit. I am a finisher.”