Perseverance Through Faith: Embracing God's Presence

Devotional

Day 1: Press through to Jesus; faith reaches His power

When life crowds in, don’t make God your last resort—press through to Him first. Like the woman who pushed past obstacles, opinions, and her own exhaustion to touch Jesus’ robe, choose today to press through hurry, shame, and distraction to reach for Him. Your perseverance is not about earning a miracle; it’s about trusting the Living God enough to keep reaching until His life meets your need. Make the deliberate choice to slow down, seek Him, and refuse to leave empty—He is near, and He responds to persevering faith. [01:26:09]

Mark 5:25-34 (NLT)
A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Reflection: What is one “crowd” today—shame, hurry, or distraction—you need to press through, and what exact step will you take in the next hour to reach for Jesus (for example, 10 minutes of prayer before touching your phone)?

Day 2: Respond to Jesus’ call with persistent faith

When you hear Jesus calling, move toward Him—even if you can’t see every step. Bartimaeus threw off his coat, jumped up, and navigated through a resisting crowd because the sound of Jesus’ voice mattered more than the obstacles. Today, lay aside one excuse or comfort that keeps you sitting, call on Him again even if you’ve been told “be quiet,” and take a concrete step toward Him; persistent response opens the way for healing and clarity. [58:00]

Mark 10:46-52 (NLT)
Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

Reflection: What “coat” do you need to throw aside today (an excuse, habit, or distraction), and how will you tangibly act on Jesus’ call within the next 24 hours?

Day 3: Perseverance endures suffering without losing mission

Hardship does not mean God has abandoned you; often it’s where resolute faith is forged. Paul’s resume includes beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, cold, and sleepless nights, yet he kept serving, teaching, and loving the churches because the mission mattered more than the pain. When life hits, acknowledge your feelings, then re-anchor your heart to the assignment God has given you and take the next faithful step—perseverance holds the line when comfort cannot. [01:05:46]

2 Corinthians 11:25-29 (NLT)
Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

Reflection: Name one current hardship and write a one-sentence mission statement for today; what single action will you take before day’s end to stay on mission despite the pain?

Day 4: God’s power shines through fragile, persevering vessels

Perseverance grows when you remember the treasure within you is God’s power, not your own perfection. You are a clay jar—limited and crackable—yet God deliberately places His glory in you so that your weakness becomes a stage for His strength. Refuse to despise your limitations; bring them to Him and keep going, confident that what you lack only makes His sufficiency clearer. [01:12:25]

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT)
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Reflection: What weakness do you tend to hide or resent? Offer it to God and choose one act of obedience today that requires His strength rather than your own.

Day 5: Perseverance is faith tested and growing strong

Perseverance isn’t a personality trait; it’s faith choosing to trust God in trial and keep moving until breakthrough. Trials become the gym where endurance is trained and maturity forms, so don’t stay in a pity party—feel, then lift your eyes and worship, speak truth, and take a step of trust. Ask God for faith, pre-decide your response, and let endurance grow you into a steadier, stronger disciple. [01:16:04]

James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Reflection: Choose one present trial and pre-decide your faith response: when that stress hits today, will you stop for five minutes to worship, pray a specific promise, and take one small obedient step—what exactly will that look like?

Sermon Summary

I opened with the confession that because Jesus lives, I can face tomorrow. We don’t serve a distant idea or a cold statue; we walk with a living God who never leaves or forsakes us, and that truth changes everything when it drops from our heads into our hearts. From there we leaned into an “old time” principle we desperately need today: perseverance. Not nostalgia for wooden pews and dirt floors, but gritty, Spirit-born steadfastness—the kind that keeps pressing until the breakthrough comes.

We walked through Scripture together because faith comes by hearing the Word. A woman who bled for twelve years pushed through a crowd determined just to touch Jesus’ robe, and power met her desperation. Blind Bartimaeus didn’t wait for convenience; he threw off his cloak and ran toward the voice of Jesus. Joseph’s life pinballed from favor to pit to prison to palace, yet he kept choosing fidelity to God over bitterness, and God used his detours to save many. Paul’s catalog of beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, and sleepless nights doesn’t read like failure; it reads like faithfulness in the real world where life happens and God still reigns.

I challenged us to ask: how do we react when we’re punched in the face by life? It’s okay to feel it—lament like David did—but don’t live there. Move from “why” to “who,” and remember there’s treasure in these jars of clay so that the power is clearly God’s, not ours. Perseverance isn’t a personality trait or a three-step hack; perseverance is faith. When we stop making God our last resort and make Him our first response, He takes our small forward step and turns it into a leap. We heard living testimonies—jobs lost turned into flourishing callings, addiction into sobriety, cancer into songs of worship—to remind us this isn’t theory. The same Jesus who met them will meet you. So press through until you break through.

Key Takeaways

1. Start with the living God, not last. Prayer isn’t a flare shot when everything else fails; it is the first move that aligns our tomorrow with the One who already holds it. When we shift from head knowledge to heart trust, confidence rises and fear loses oxygen. Choose Him first, not after every other option is exhausted. [05:33] - Jesus sometimes calls us to move before the miracle. Bartimaeus was blind, yet he ran toward a voice—throwing aside what once defined him. Faith hears Christ’s call and presses through obstacles, trusting that obedience is the doorway to encounter. Don’t wait for perfect conditions; move toward Him.
- Opposition doesn’t cancel calling; it reveals where the power comes from. We carry treasure in jars of clay so it’s unmistakable that the excellence is God’s, not ours. Weakness becomes a platform for His strength, and perseverance becomes worship when we refuse to quit. Let your limits spotlight His sufficiency.
- Life happens—and God still reigns. Shipwrecks, losses, and “detours” don’t mean abandonment; they are often the very places God forges depth and authority in us. Don’t interpret pain as proof of absence; interpret it through the cross and the empty tomb. Hold fast to the truth that God still wins.
- Perseverance is not willpower; it’s faith. Surrender beats self-reliance every time, and a single step of trust invites God’s multiplier. Ask Him for faith, then act on what He gives—worship in the night, obey in the dark, and keep showing up. He turns pressing through into breakthrough. [05:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:33] - Because He Lives: Living God, Offering, Missions
[58:00] - Bartimaeus: Called to Press Through
[61:11] - Joseph’s Detours and Grit
[65:46] - Paul’s Catalog of Suffering
[69:05] - When Life Just Happens
[69:51] - God Still Wins
[72:25] - Treasure in Earthen Vessels
[76:04] - Perseverance Is Faith
[79:48] - Feel It, Don’t Live In It
[84:29] - I Don’t Know Why, But I Know Who
[86:09] - Surrender Changes the Trajectory
[88:23] - Invitation to Follow Jesus
[90:39] - Prayer for Renewed Faith
[92:14] - Closing Worship

Sermon Clips

And let me tell you this, God didn't leave you. God didn't forsake you.God's not distant from you. Did Paul do anything wrong? Was Paul sinning? And so because he was sinning, then he was beaten and shipwrecked? No, actually, as a matter of fact, he was preaching the gospel. And that's why he was beaten and stoned and all of these different things. And so what can we learn from that? We can learn simply this. Guys, listen, life just happens.But here's the most important thing. God is still God. God is still on the throne. And guess what? God still wins. [01:09:46] (41 seconds) #GodRemainsOnTheThrone

You know, I've lost both my parents.God -fearing people, saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost.Prayed for them while they were sick. You know, that whole thing. Why did they pass away? Why did they die? I don't know. But here's what I do know. I know that the Holy Spirit through that entire thing, man, comforted me and gave me what I needed in the times that I needed every single time.I had people at our funeral wonder and question me and say, well, Chris, are you even mad? Because I didn't cry because I knew, I knew where she was. I knew what she was doing. I knew she didn't have to suffer. I knew everything was going to be okay. We had conversations about things like this and so people were actually mocking me, making fun of me and saying, why would you not cry about this? And I'm like, because, man, I serve a God above any of this and I serve and the Holy Spirit is inside of me and He is the comforter [01:11:58] (55 seconds) #HolySpiritComforts

Paul goes on to say and understand that God had placed something inside of him that he had nothing to do with. God chose him so that when others saw him they didn't say that was Paul but they said that was God. And so many times in our lives we think, man, why am I going through this? Why is this happening? Why is this happening? What's going on? What's going on? What's going on? Man, I think it's because God says, man, I'm about to take what the world would say is flawed and I'm going to turn it to something that only the world can say, only God. And that's what's so important about Paul's life is they took somebody who killed Christians and then became probably one of the biggest missionary this world has ever seen and it was all because of God. [01:13:23] (44 seconds) #ChooseGodFirst

Man, you want to know how to persevere? You want to know how to get that grit? You want to know how to get that heart? Man, you couple that with faith in God and nothing can stop you. Nothing can stop you. And I believe that's where perseverance comes from. [01:19:00] (19 seconds) #FaithLeapsForward

We all want to persevere, right? We all want to push through. We all want that inside of us. So if we want that, then that tells me this, that we want faith. So the prayer we need to pray is simply this, God, give me faith. Be careful. Because a lot of times people will say, God, give me perseverance. And then God will put you in perseverance and you go, God, just kidding. Like, so be careful. But what you can do is say this, God, give me faith. Give me the faith that always knows that no matter what, you are God, you are on the throne, and you are in control. And I promise you, church, I promise you, you're going to see your life transform. [01:23:17] (39 seconds) #SurrenderBringsBreakthrough

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