Perseverance must finish its work…

“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” — James 1:4

I love the word “perseverance.” It has such a nice, wordsy ring to it.

As I thought about this verse the other day, I pondered the usage of the words “its work” in the verse. Why does perseverance have a work? What would that work be? I thought that perseverance was something that I needed to work on…not the other way around. And then, an interesting and important point hit me:

Your work (your job) will often work on you as much as you work on your work.

Let that sink in for a minute…

You might think that you’re just doing your job…just completing another assignment. But that’s not the only thing that’s happening. Essentially, work changes you. It makes you into a different person because, through it,

• you learn new concepts or gain expertise each time you work on a project.
• you take on responsibility and dedicate yourself to get something done.
• you learn how to better communicate with clients and meet the needs of someone else.

So friend, keep persevering…until you get a new, creative idea…or until you solve a particular problem…or until, well, you fill in the blank. Because by keeping with it, you’re allowing change to occur in your life. You’re letting perseverance finish its work in your work. It’s a good thing.

Sources:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%201&version=NIV1984