Persevering the Staircase of Suffering

Sherri Cullison is a phenomenal woman who has found God to be "enough" in her struggles. In this Perseverance UPGRADE, she shares three ways to cultivate perseverance in times of suffering.

“I am so excited you’re giving me your exercise bike,” Sherri exclaimed. "My uncle stood stunned, eyes wide and straight-faced."

I (Dawn) have to tell you, I met Sherri some years ago, after she suffered a terrible loss. Yet she was engaging and eager to see how God might use her in spite of her pain. I have been blessed to see her perseverance.

In this article, she writes about two different kinds of suffering she's experienced, and how perseverance helped her deal with both.

Sherri continues . . .

Truthfully, I really was excited about the exercise bike. For months, I wanted to lose weight to feel stronger and healthier, but I couldn’t exercise standing due to an old injury.

I had the desire to reduce fat and build muscle, but I felt chained to the recliner, hopeless of ever becoming fit. But now, with a little work, I could pedal myself away on a new journey of fitness.

I knew I had to start slow and easy, so I set a goal of pedaling for five minutes.

Quickly, my lungs labored, and my leg muscles burned.

My will grew weak, and I wanted to give up.

Then I pushed myself a little harder and finished my first five minutes. Hurray.

Now I’m a world-class athlete. Not likely. But what brings success to my goal? Persevering on this uncomfortable contraption for just a few minutes every day.

Several years ago, I thought perseverance wasn’t an option.

After losing my youngest daughter Sarah, I trudged through my grief-walk each day, dreading the next.

• My body operated as if fifty-pound weights were anchored to my ankles.
• My mind floated in a fog and functioned unreliably.
• Tears came easy and the hands of anxiety choked my breath away.
• There were days I wasn’t sure I would even make it to the next.

Sometimes we feel we’ll never recover from life’s struggles, but how we choose to handle our circumstances is vital to surviving life-altering changes.

The suffering we often experience is incomprehensible, yet God’s Word encourages us:

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 (Romans 5:1-4 NIV).

Certainly, I didn’t feel like “glory-ing” in my suffering when I lost my daughter, but God promised that in my suffering I would find perseverance.

And then character.

And finally, hope.

With hope, I knew I could get through this nightmare.

How do we grasp this hope that God promises? Three helpful answers are found in Hebrews 12.

1. Choose to Run the Race with Endurance.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Sometimes that means letting go of sin’s grip.

When we’re sinning, we don’t want to run with God. We would rather walk on our own.

Often, we need to downsize our responsibilities. It’s okay to say no, and it’s okay to remove those heavy things in our lives that slow us down.

Allow yourself the grace to simplify your life.

2. Choose to Consistently Fix Our Eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2, 3 (NLT)

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.

Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up.

Jesus endured merciless beatings, humiliation, and imminent death. However, we fix our eyes on our current situation and honestly, not enough on Jesus and what He endured.

Pursuing time alone with Him every day will bring light to our dark situation. Pray simple prayers and allow him to carry your heavy load.

3. Choose to Persevere in Living a Life that Others Follow.

Hebrews 12:12 (NLT)

So, take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.

Paul wasn’t kidding when he said our hands would be tired and our legs shaky.

Some steps of life begin at the bottom of a long, dark staircase where we hesitate to even take the first step. But God tells us to mark out a straight path. Map your thoughts and actions, and don’t give up.

Push to persevere. Then watch others follow and become strong.

You’ve just built character here. And that, my friend, leads to hope.

What steps will you take this week to pursue your goals and meet glory in your suffering?

Sherri J. Cullison, author and speaker, knows the pain and devastation life brings. Whether your hope is treading or sinking, Sherri’s heart for hope reveals how we can manage our everyday struggles to claim joy and love life.  In her recent book, SOS: A Mother’s Story of Survival, Rescue, and Hope in the Darkness of Teen Suicide, Sherri shares the heartbreaking loss of her daughter and the evidence of God’s healing, forgiveness, and restoration. Sherri and her husband live in Arizona and have two children, seven grandchildren, five pianos, and one RZR. Discover more about Sherri and her story at www.sherrijcullison.com

Looking Back to Look Forward

Kathy Carlton Willis is a life trailblazer. As her bio reads, she "shines the light on what holds you back so you can grow." And so you can move forward. In this New Year UPGRADE she writes about two "looks"—the look backward and the look forward.

Kathy says, “It’s not possible to move forward while looking back, but it’s also not possible to move forward without having first looked back.

"Looking back allows you the opportunity to leave it there. The good and the bad."

I (Dawn) love the opportunity Kathy gives us to prepare ourselves for our best year ever. Lots of wisdom here.

Kathy continues . . .

The past is only baggage that will weigh you down moving forward. It’s futile to expect passion to be enough for productivity in living out your purpose for 2019 until you properly put 2018 to bed.

Do you have any annual practices as you transition from the old year to the new year? Or would you like to start a new tradition this year?

It’s a great time to look back (to learn from the past) and to look forward (to set new goals).

Some choose to ask God to give them a focus word or phrase for the year. This practice allows you to have a main purpose or perspective as you navigate the next twelve months.

One way to prepare for the New Year is to:

• look back on the old year,
• address any unfinished business hanging on in your heart or mind,
• and then ask God to help you move forward, ready for what He has planned for you in 2019.

Steps to Looking Back Well

1. Be honest with yourself.

Many women tend to downplay the good things and magnify the bad.

2. Identify the positive highlights of the year.

Why do they stand out in your mind? What was your part in the outcome? How did you see God at work in the circumstance, or in your heart and mind?

3. Let go of the disappointments of the year.

What do you regret? How were you let down? How did something negative impact your year?

What can you do to move past it?

4. Repent of anything left unconfessed from 2018.

• Look upon your sinful choices with remorse and learn from them.
• Consider ways to choose godly options next time.
• Accept God’s forgiveness and ask God to change any lingering tendencies that might cause you to give in to unholy thoughts or actions in the future.

5. Recall the hard times you endured that had good outcomes.

Thank God for equipping you with the endurance needed to persevere.

As you say goodbye to 2018 and say hello to 2019, take some time to grieve the losses of the year and celebrate the victories.

Do something monumental and memorable to mark this moment. This prepares you to move forward.

“Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given” (1 Chronicles 16:12 NLT.

Now it’s time to release 2018 and enter into 2019 with full resolve!

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT).

Steps to Looking Forward Willingly

1. Decide what to do about unfinished projects.

What was left unfinished in 2018?

How do you plan to make room for it in 2019? Or is this a goal that you need to let go?

2. Evaluate what new thing God is impressing on you as you pray for direction in the new year.

How will you incorporate that into your plan?

3. Identify distractions, doubts and disabilities.

What limitations might impair you, moving forward?

How can you set up a plan to work around these concerns?

4. Work within your heart-core passion.

What project excites you? How can you make more room in your life for it?

5. Reserve more margin or white space in your life.

How will this refuel you?

What might you do to guard against draining to-dos threatening to crowd this space?

6. Ask God to show you the goals He has for your 2019.

• What will help you grow spiritually, personally, and professionally?
• What will benefit your family and friends?
• What will put you in a place of service and ministry?
• And mostly, what will bring glory to God?

The blank 2019 calendar represents you emptied out and ready to be filled up with God and His goals for you.

How will you fill your calendar (and your life) this year?

God’s Grin Gal, Kathy Carlton Willis, shines the light on what holds you back so you can grow. She’s a speaker and author with over a thousand articles online and in print, as well as her Bible study, Grin with Grace; and she is featured on CBN. She and her husband Russ live in Texas with their adorable Boston Terrier, Hettie.

Graphic Adapted, courtesy of JakeMelara at Unsplash.