Day 4: “Lord, Help Me to Persevere!”

Have you started doing something that could turn out great, but you’re having a hard time finishing the job? If so, be inspired by today’s story about one of King David’s mighty men–and pray the simple prayer, “Lord, help me to persevere!”

Related: Click here for the 21 Days of Great Exploits FREE blog series table of contents, so you can read all the other articles in this series as well.

Our story for Day 4 of 21 Days of Great Exploits comes from 2 Samuel 23:8-12, which says:

“These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time.

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder.

And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory” (2 Samuel 23:8-12 NKJV).

In this passage, we read about three of David’s mighty men: the top three, in fact.

These were strong, brave, skillful warriors; men of reknown who did great exploits. And although they probably did a lot more than we read about here, we do know that, at minimum:

• Josheb-Basshebeth (also called Adino) killed 800 men at one time;
• Eleazar “arose and attacked the Philistines” after the men of Israel around him had retreated, and he fought so long that his hand cramped in place and stuck to the sword. He won the battle all by himself, and the people only came back to take the treasures off the bodies of their dead enemies.
• Shammah, again fighting by himself, stood in the middle of a field of lentils and defended it, killing an entire Philistine troop.

We know that the Lord was with these men because the passage above tells us twice that the Lord brought a great victory. But, you know what these men had to decide to do in order to accomplish the great exploits listed above?

They had to persevere.

Yes: Josheb-Basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah–three of the mightiest men recorded in the Bible, meaning three of the mightiest men recorded in history–they accomplished great things. But they had to persevere to do it.

If they had quit, they would have failed and died.

All three of these men were men of war. War is a “I kill you or you kill me” endeavor, so these men’s very lives depended upon their perseverance.

To clarify:

• If Josheb-Basshebeth had stopped at killing 799 men, the 800th man would have killed him.
• If Eleazar had stopped when 75% of his enemies were dead, the other 25% would have killed him. (The Israelites had already retreated; Eleazar was fighting by himself!)
• And the same thing goes for Shammah: no matter how many Philistines he killed while defending that field of lentils, if he had left even one man standing, his own life would have ended. He was also fighting by himself, and it’s “kill or be killed” when you’re in the hand-to-hand combat type of battle.

But all three of these mighty men of God stuck with their task. They persevered, and in so doing not only saved their own lives but also were used as vessels for the Lord to bring them each a great victory.

But we’re only reading about these great exploits because three mighty men, each in his own divine moment, chose to persevere.

And beloved, no matter what God has called you to do, you’re going to need to persevere too:

• Has He called you to start a ministry? Start it, and persevere.
• Has He convicted you to get out of debt? Keep paying down those balances, and persevere.
• Has He convicted you to get physically healthy? Keep going for those walks and eating your protein and veggies, and persevere in it.
• Has He called you to love someone who seems unlovable? Ask Him to give you His eyes and heart for that person, and persevere in loving them.
• Is He leading you to pray for your pastor, church, spouse, children, community, or nation? Keep on keeping on with your intercession … and persevere.

Perseverance is one of the most difficult things for our flesh. Our flesh would rather quit. However, beloved, if you want to carry out great exploits for the Lord, 10 out of 10 times you’re going to have to persevere.

Difficult times will come, but God will give you the grace to get through them … and to persevere.

God has called you to do great things, beloved.

But you can only accomplish those great things if you stick with the task assigned to you. I know it can be hard; trust me! Perseverance is one of my biggest personal battles. Nevertheless, God’s grace is sufficient to help us persevere. I call on Him every day for His grace according to 2 Corinthians chapter 12:

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV).

… And every day, as I ask Him to do, He gives me His grace to keep going one more day. On the hardest days, it may feel like you’re doing all you can to persevere one moment at a time, one breath at a time, without even thinking about a whole day at once! But regardless, His grace is always sufficient!

God has mighty works for you to do, my friend.

But those mighty works and great exploits won’t happen on their own. You have to start and continue and persevere in them. You have to persevere even when the persevering is hard.

No, 90% of the way won’t cut it. Even making it 99% of the way won’t be good enough to accomplish the dream. You’ve got to keep on going until you’re 100% of the way done.

Do you need God’s help and grace to persevere in your great exploits today?

If so, pray this with me:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come before You in Jesus’ name.

Abba Father, thank You for giving me a great big assignment on the earth. Even if I don’t know what the fullness of the assignment is yet, You have set my hand to labor for Your Kingdom even now, and I’m grateful to be allowed to carry out great exploits over time.

Father, I realize that nothing worth doing happens without effort.

You have called me to put my hand to the plow and accomplish great exploits for You and Your Kingdom. But Lord, I can’t do these things on my own, and I know You don’t expect me to. You said that without You I can do nothing! So, I definitely need Your help, Your wisdom, and Your guidance–and, right now today, I need You to help me and give me grace to persevere.

Father, please help me persevere in my assignment, no matter what:

• Let my heart not grow weary in well doing. Help me not to faint, so that I can reap.
• Let Your grace be sufficient for me, and may Your strength be made perfect in my weakness.
• Encourage me today, and lift my head, so that I am filled with the desire to keep going, as is pleasing to You.
• Fill me once again, anew and afresh, with Your Holy Spirit, Your fire, Your power, and Your glory.
• Fill me with a holy fire of passion and love for my task, all fueled by a holy fire, passion, and love for YOU.

Thank You, Abba Father. Thank You for helping me persevere in Your name. I give You all the praise and glory.

In Jesus’ mighty, holy, and precious name I pray, amen and amen.”

Beloved, you can do great things for the Kingdom, for Christ, and even for your family and for your own personal life.

However, you will have to persevere. Jesus told us that we will encounter difficulty along the way:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).

But GOD is with you to help you; to lift you up and carry you; and to sustain you all the days of your life. Call on Him today, and ask Him to help you persevere, so you can carry out all the great exploits He has assigned to you!

Does this message speak to your heart today? If so, leave a comment below!