Perseverance is a word that we are digging into these days. To persevere is to press on and work through something because you know what you are working towards is worth it. I have learned that you have to go through things in life - there will always be problems and challenges and tough stuff that requires us to persevere. We may not see how it is going to work out, we may not know how we get to the other side, but we keep walking and going forward.

I think the new part of learning about perseverance for me is to realize that perseverance never stops. We do not just have seasons where we persevere and then everything is OK, or we get to coast for a while. Perseverance is for life - every step of life has questions we can't answer, challenges that are bigger than us, mountains and valleys we could not predict.

Perseverance is simply life. Pressing on to what lies ahead. What makes it worth it and what lets me do it - is knowing that Jesus Christ is with me and that He has a future for me. When we have Jesus walking with us - He gives us the strength. When we have Jesus walking with us - we can be sure of where the journey will take us. Because of Him I persevere.

Our team just returned from China after an amazing week. It was my first time in Asia and God used it to remind me that He is the God of the whole world. From the time we arrived we knew that we must rely on God and that He was at work in China long before we ever thought about it. In Macau we saw St Pauls cathedral and the martyrs who died there. Christianity has a long history there - but God is also doing an amazing work there today. China is the largest population of Christians in a nation today!! But with 1.3 billion people there are still many who need the gospel. As we gave out Bibles to the Chinese it was powerful to see their hunger and appreciation for God's Word. It was a vivid contrast to the apathy toward God and His Word in our culture today. We can only pray that what God is doing in other parts of the world will return here soon.
Perhaps a Bible given to a person in China last week will inspire a Chinese person to come to America and share Christ here. That is fully in line with a God of the Whole World. I can't wait to see it.

Every January is a time to reflect back on where we have been and to look forward to the year ahead. Reflection is something that can be painful - looking back on rough experiences or painful circumstances. But God always gives us the opportunity to learn from our circumstances and even our mistakes so that life can be better. Paul writes in Philippians:"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."
He did not learn this from a book - but from trusting God in all circumstances and looking for His work in our life.

The New Year is also a time to look - but that can also be hard when is filled with uncertainty and and our hope is weak. That is where our trust in God becomes even more important. Psalm 27 tells us: 13 I am still confident of this:I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
When life is uncertain God calls us to go with confidence that we will see His goodness trusting He will show Himself when it is best. That can be hard - but we can either go alone into uncertainty or go with God.

I hope that as we go into this new year which is full of questions - we will learn from our past to trust God in all situations and to go with confidence into the new year that whatever God has for us is good when we are going with Him.