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In this podcast I talk about the power of perseverance in your daily job. It’s a marathon, folks, and gritting your way through with joy intact can be quite hard. Here are five ways you can win at the workrace.

Scriptures:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (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 trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

5 Core Beliefs you Need to Persevere at Work:

One. God has a sovereign plan.

• “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:10, NIV)
• Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21
• The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9
• With sovereignty, we take setbacks in stride. “If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him.” Oswald Chambers

Two. The road is longer than you think with more obstacles than you anticipate.

• Entrepreneurs tend to go forward with optimism, forgetting that there will be a cost, and that tasks are often longer and harder than we anticipate.
• We forget to brainstorm obstacles.
• It’s best to go into the next endeavor eyes wide open, with a little pessimism sprinkled in so you can anticipate the roadblocks. Nothing kills optimism like unexpected obstacles.

Three. Head up is better than head down.

• When we get tired running, our head drops. A pessimistic gaze toward the ground reinforces our desire to quit.
• When we choose to lift our heads, to see the scenery around, and look at the goal in front of us, we do much better.
• Book recommendations:

Four: It’s hard to finish well, but rewarding.

• The example of King Asa. “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war” 2 Chronicles 16:9, NET (Levav Shalem, wholehearted devotion)
• Train for the long journey. Oswald Chambers, remarking on Hanani’s warning to Asa, wrote, “God wants you to be entirely His, and this means that you have to watch to keep yourself fit. It takes a tremendous amount of time.”
• It’s always fun to start things, to be an instigator of a new project. It’s less sexy to work through the muddled middle of a project, pushing through to completion. Success comes from finishing things, in following through.

Five. It’s more important to go the distance than to sprint and never make it.

• Daily work is a marathon, not a sprint.
• We must take the long view.

What about you? How have you persevered at work? What does working “uncaged” mean to you?