It was printed on the back of a used envelope and pinned to my older brother’s bulletin board. Below the frayed paper where the flap had been torn off, three words were written with a green felt pen: “We Don’t Quit.” My dad’s writing was distinct because he always wrote in all capital letters. I think the note was the follow-up to a conversation he’d had with my brother, who was sixteen or seventeen at the time. I still have no idea what they talked about. The words weren’t meant for me, but they made a lasting impression.
I’ve pictured that frayed envelope with the green words many times in the years that have followed. It provided encouragement to persevere in difficult circumstances, especially during my teens and twenties. I envisioned it while enduring the misery of high school chemistry, the ache of homesickness my first year in college, and the challenge of corralling unruly students when I started teaching high school.
Perseverance is defined as persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. It is to continue steadfastly in a thing and give unremitting care to it. Perseverance is a quality that we respect, but it’s in short supply in our world today. When things get difficult, uncomfortable, or boring, many of us see that as a sign it’s time to move on—whether it’s a job, a relationship, or some other commitment.
Not surprisingly, the Bible has a different perspective and provides some clear insight into the value of perseverance in our spiritual journey:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5, NIV, bold print added for emphasis)
Follow the chain reaction that occurs when we endure suffering instead of circumventing it–we develop perseverance, which builds character. And depth of character enables us to discover hope in unlikely places. “The believer’s hope is not to be equated with unfounded optimism. On the contrary, it is the blessed assurance of our future destiny and is based on God’s love, which is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit and objectively demonstrated to us in the death of Christ.” 1
Perseverance is at the opposite end of the spectrum from instant gratification. It requires having “a long obedience in the same direction.” Here’s how author Eugene Peterson explains it:
“Perseverance does not mean ‘perfection.’ It means that we keep going. We do not quit when we find that we are not yet mature and there is a long journey still before us…We survive in the way of faith not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous, because God sticks with us.”2
Over the next few weeks we’ll learn more about perseverance from the Old Testament book of Ruth. We’ll follow the story of two widows, Naomi, a Jewish woman, and Ruth, her Moabite daughter in law. These women lived during the period of Judges, a time of unrest for the Israelites. Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, had taken his family from Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) to the neighboring country of Moab to escape a famine. Shortly after moving there, Elimelech passed away, leaving his wife and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, in a foreign land whose inhabitants worshipped idols. Ignoring the Jewish law not to take wives outside their faith, the two brothers married Moabite women and subsequently passed away. Hearing that the famine in Judah had ended, Naomi decided to return to her hometown of Bethlehem ten years later to make a new start with her daughters in law in tow. However, shortly after beginning the journey, Naomi stopped and urged Orpah and Ruth to return to their parents, knowing their prospects in Judah would be bleak:
“At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her. But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.” (Ruth 1:14-18, NIV)
In the face of tremendous loss, Ruth persevered. She forsook her culture, her religion, and her people and chose to travel to a foreign land with her beloved mother in law. Maybe she saw something in Naomi’s faith that drew her toward the one true God. She might not have known how persevering would affect her character, but something beckoned her forward and gave her hope in the unlikeliest of places. Though the future looked anything but bright, Ruth didn’t quit. In the weeks ahead, we’ll follow her story, witness the power of perseverance, and be inspired by her example.
Ruth’s promise to Naomi reveals amazing love and devotion. For a musical rendition of it, listen and enjoy Chris Tomlin’s song, “I Will Follow.”
1. NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 2008, page 1745.
2. Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Revised and Expanded Edition), Intervarsity Press, 1980, 2000, pages 131 & 133.
Inspired by A Woman Who Doesn’t Quitby Nicki Koziars, Lifeway Press, 2016.