A Spirit of Perseverance
Andrew spent many, many, many months in prison and entered into quite a deep depression in that time. But slowly his faith grew stronger. And I like what he says on page 176: "As Christmas drew near, I told Noreen" - that's his wife - "if I'm still here at Christmas, I'll thank Jesus for coming to the earth. If I'm still here New Year's, I'll thank Him for bringing me through the year." "If I'm still here on my birthday, I will thank Him for the life He gave me."
I really like that. I thought this spirit of determination was very powerful. He said, "Okay, if my difficult situation hasn't been resolved, I'm still going to praise God. I'm still going to thank God."
Praising Through the Pain
And he reached all those milestones without being released, and all sorts of others. His daughter graduated and he couldn't watch. He couldn't be there. He turned 50 and his family wasn't there to celebrate. His father-in-law died. He couldn't go to the funeral.
He said, "Every day brought the same struggle until I reached a place where I was willing to embrace God's assignment for me." That's powerful. He was willing to embrace where God had placed him and stand up for his beliefs right there.
I know it's been a very tough time for many of us and I wonder if we can take heed of these words. Maybe we need to look to the next milestone and say, "If I get there, then I'm going to thank God. And if I get to the next one, I'm still just going to thank God."
Embracing God's Assignment
Maybe we need to willingly embrace God's assignment for us and say, "Lord, no matter how far You take me from here, I'm going to thank You every step of the way."
That attitude of gratitude and perseverance is what defines Christians. And so I pray that today your perseverance will be at a high level, as you say to God, "I'm going to still praise You no matter what happens."
