PASSIVE PERSEVERANCE
Have you noticed lately how everything just seems to try and dare you to quit?
Quit a relationship! Quit a job! Quit a task! Quit trying!
Quit whatever it is you are doing! Just Quit, Quit, Quit! Quit everything.
It’s very tempting to fantasize about just quitting. Packing it all in, and rolling up your tent, selling off all your wares and just moving somewhere.
You feel burned out. You’re tired of it all. You just want something new, something better, or at the very least something different.
Everything feels like it is just snowballing. Things and stuff are tumbling everywhere. There's no one, no time, no money, and no resources for anything that can make you feel better about your situation.
Been there! Heck I’m kind of there right now, truth be told.
I was wondering where all that was coming from.
Well, we’ve recently experienced a generational defining, life altering, worldwide traumatic event that led us to other life altering events in our own personal lives. That’s where it came from!
This single event forced us to take a long hard look at how, “We Did Life,” and we were not happy with what we saw.
That’s what’s causing this strong desire to just quit it all.
However, the last thing we need to do now is to be impulsive.
We can’t just up and quit everything. Even though we feel like we want to.
We’ve come too far, been through too much, sacrificed too many things, expended too much time, just to give up, and give in now. At least not without a fight.
You might feel like I do. But I’m tired of fighting! Fight, fight, fight is all I do.
If you’ve been fighting this whole time, that means you’ve not been defeated!
What if I told you, there’s a way that we could sort of quit everything without exactly quitting everything. Huh? Just hear me out.
We get so caught up in all our output, that we neglect to focus on our input.
Letting go of one ball feels like we’re dropping all of them. The household, relationships, finances, family, the job, the dog, you name it, they are all counting on us to keep them afloat.
We feel that if we’re not moving at 100 mph, then we are a failure.
I’ve learned over the years that just because you’re moving fast doesn’t mean that you are moving forward or succeeding.
I think that our inclinations to quit is a sign that we need to just stop. I mean that quite literally. Just stop and lay down somewhere, the floor, the bed, the couch, or wherever feels comfortable. We just need to take a break from all the activities and all the to-do lists.
We need to focus on our input, what is going into us. That’s how we combat what’s going on with us.
I’m not suggesting we hide out from the world. On the contrary I’m talking about recharging ourselves so that we can take things head on.
It’s what I call Passive Perseverance. Allow me to explain.
Many of us have been conditioned to think that any stoppage is cowardly, but in this sense, stopping is the most courageous thing that we could possibly do.
It takes real courage to say, “I just think I need to stop!”
Some time you gotta stop and get help. “Our help comes from the Lord” Psm 121
Sometimes the best way to fight is to just stand still. Be Still in fact.
We need to be still and meditate on Gods great power. Greater is he that is in me that he that is in this world. Doing this will recharge our lives.
Let the force within us, that created all things defeat those forces around us.
But it can only happen when you get still and meditate on that inner force.
The prefix of Perseverance is Per, from the root word PIE, which means to hold onto steadfastly, this is given as an instruction. Severe – means extreme, grave, as in life or death. This word is described as a state or condition.
If you put the two together Persevere is an instruction to get into position.
What position? Hold on for dear life!
Hold onto what you might ask? Hold onto GOD!
Be still, Hold on, for dear life to God, knowing full well that He is the great I Am who created all things. He is our source of Power and strength.
We’re run down because we didn’t stay connected to our source of power.
Our hearts don’t run on batteries or an electrical plug. Our brain isn’t gasoline powered. Our lungs don’t use solar energy to be effective.
We run on God Power. “For it is in Him, that we live, move, and have our being” Acts 17:28
So how do I get still? How do I practice Passive Perseverance? Glad you asked.
You stare into space. That’s it. Clear your mind, clear your heart, Take a deep breath, and stare.
You can sit in your car, go to a park, sit on the porch, get in your prayer closet, or you can lay on your floor and stare at the ceiling. Just find somewhere peaceful with no activity.
Whatever you do, just don’t do anything. Just stop and be still.
Be prepared that once you begin being quiet your mind will explode with thoughts. Thoughts of some many things you need to go and do right now.
Don’t give in to that temptation. Despite how convincing it might seem.
Don’t get up. Just lay there. Lay there still. Don’t focus on things, focus on God! Hold onto God! Passive Perseverance!
Soon you’ll feel better. You’ll feel like maybe the world isn't so bad, and you're going to make it after all. Then you are free to get up.
But at any time, it starts to feel like too much and you just want to quit everything again, return to that place of courageous stoppage and repeat the previous steps.
You’ll be amazed by how many “bright” ideas come when you are still.
Remember when you’re sitting still you are at your best and brightest selves, the you that allows you to hear better, be calmer, be more inspired, more balanced, and more tolerant, just like your father God.
Sometimes "doing" isn't the thing that needs to be done. Oftentimes its” not doing” that yields the greatest rewards.
Persevere in Prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving. Col. 4:2
God is instructing us in Passive Perseverance.
Hear more in BOOK of TRUTHS, Volume 1. BOOK OF TRUTHS - THOMPSON TRUTHS VOLUME 1 — Benton T. Thompson III (bentonthompsoniii.com)
This is a Thompson Truth
