Persistence

Persistence is the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose; the act of persisting or persevering; continuing or repeating behavior. This is also the definition of faith. Faith is never giving up and continuing to believe and know that God will be there to help. Faith is not worrying about what will or will not happen, but knowing that anything that comes your way - anything - is there for you to learn from. This takes a death to our ego, a knowing that we are living a lifestyle in the way that Jesus did and taught. We go forward with confidence and have faith. Faith meaning that we develop a state of mind that knows and is confident about will happen and we never sway from that. This takes a practice of continuous self suggestion to produce this state of mind.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

James 1:2-8

You see faith and persistence is not about giving up when tests and challenges and "failures" come our way we continue to push forward and be persistent. Our faith-life opens up and we understand if we truly have faith. When we try to "get out of things prematurely," we make excuses, call it a "bad break," "misfortune" or "bad luck." We think that we have no control and we continue to believe that and we begin to act it out through worry and we feel tossed about in the ocean. We cannot connect to God in this place. We have stop tell ourselves (self suggesting) that we are loved, cared for, and can be confident. Having all our options open means that we have not come to faith about anything. We try to guess and control our own lifes through worry about tomorrow.

If we remain persistent, everyday repeating to ourselves what we will see and know, setting our goals, and knowing that there is no such thing as "failure" or "impossible," God will help. We must ask boldly, believing, and knowing. This is were we make a connection to the mind of God and God's infinite intelligence. God is always there but we finally clearly see, understand, and know God. How can God meet us when we think on the bad, the ugly, the anxiety, the failure, the misfortune? You see God does not think like that! Faith is thinking like God. God will work with us and for us when we connect to God like that, but it takes practice - persistence!

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:8-9

Namaste'