Good morning people who are empowered through keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.

We are called to be persevering warriors.

There is a need for the body of Christ to recapture the holy call to persevere.

Jesus persevered to the point of shedding His blood and laying down His life.

The early apostles also persevered to the point of being greatly persecuted, and most of them literally laid down their lives.

Throughout history, including still today, countless numbers of Christians chose to keep on going, despite great and terrible hardships, including death as martyrs.

Now we live in a time when Christianity has become too much about ‘serving me and meeting my needs’. This is not always the case – many still preach the truth – however, it is all too common, and it is very different to what Jesus preached.

The scriptures on persevering, overcoming, not giving up, not casting away our confidence are numerous. As too are the scriptures on the certainty of us facing hardships, persecutions, tribulations and difficulty.

So why are we surprised when this happens? Why do we go to the question, “God, where are you?”

God was with Daniel in the lion’s den, with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, with Joseph in the pit and in the prison, with Paul and Silas in the prison, and He is most certainly with you and I today.

The presence of problems is not the evidence of the absence of God.

And it is this truth that empowers us to be persevering warriors.