The document discusses the importance of perseverance, drawing parallels between the struggles faced by donkeys and the challenges humans encounter during difficult times in their lives. It emphasizes that perseverance involves staying committed despite obstacles and gaining strength through trials, alongside references to various historical figures and their insights on this quality. Trust in oneself and the divine, along with patience and time, are highlighted as essential components in developing the ability to persevere through life's challenges.

1. Learn to Persevere
I once lived in near Limuru, a town known for its enormous number of donkeys. The
donkeys would be forced to carry very heavy loads and if they hesitated, they would be
whipped very much. The donkeys persevere all the pains and do as their masters want. In
the life of a man, the ages 31-50, are termed as the Donkey Years when we go through
difficulties and could be best moments of our lives. Are we able to persevere?
Perseverance means staying with the task no matter how hard or troublesome. It is being
true to someone or something. Perseverance means fighting through past your comfort
zone. It means not giving up when the task reaches a difficulty level you did not believe it
would. Perseverance encompasses fighting until the end of something
We can learn from former South Africa president: “It always seems impossible until it's done.”
-Nelson Mandela
“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize howclose they were to success when they
gave up.” - Thomas A. Edison
There are many countless stories about the power of perseverance and the victory that
comes through the pain. Calvin Coolidge: “Press on! Nothing in the world can take the
place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men
with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not;
the world is full of educated derelicts.”
The word perseverance means to persist or endure in spite of elements arrayed against
you. People don’t want to persevere in our society today. In an age of instant everything,
we’re not too big on perseverance. We want everything to be delivered to our door step
on our time line at our convenience.
No matter what happens in life, learn from every experience to become a stronger and
wiser person. Reach out for help and support when you need it. Stay in gratitude and
appreciation for everything. Decide to hold your vision and take daily action steps. Look
for alternative approaches if need be and just keep going.
It is easy to give up when times get hard. However, persevering through something builds
character. It is a form of testing yourself to see how far you can go. Your strength is
demonstrated. Also, you can prove to yourself your capability. Once you actually do
reach your goals, the sense of accomplishment is empowering. Completing a simple task
makes you content, but when you fight through the obstacles and put in all your effort,
you encounter a feeling of pride.
Learning to persevere means you develop the stamina in life. There are tests, trials and
troubles that we all face in life in one way or the other. How you handle these issues will
give you the muscles to handle difficult ones in the future. Before we can persevere we
need the severe. This can come in the form of tests, trials, or troubles. One can’t
persevere without the severe. Enduring tests and trials will help us to persevere.

2. Last week I visited a friend of mine in his office. He had called me to discuss an issue
with him. When I entered his office, he gave me a hand shake and never talked to me
until one and a quarter hours later. He was busy doing his work, making calls and writing
as if I was not facing him right in front of me. I had the option of getting disappointed
and going away or persevere by waiting. It was a big trial to me.
Seek for the truth. Stand for the truth. Suffer for the truth. It is worthy. In perseverance
you need to know the truth. Truth gives us a reason to persevere. It’s not enough to
persevere if we don’t have something to hold onto. Truth is worth persevering for. In
order for our perseverance to have value we must have truth in our lives. Knowing and
practicing the truth will aid us in perseverance.
Time is of great essence in perseverance. Time is a necessary component to perseverance.
We can’t say that we’ve persevered until a sufficient amount of time has gone by.
Repetition also helps us to persevere. The more we experience something, the better we
are able to endure it. Time is our friend in developing the art of perseverance.
Finally we must learn to build trust. Trust gives you the hope that all will be well soon;
that there is a light at the end of the tunnel; weeping only last for the night, joy comes in
the morning; that things will become better; that the future looks brighter than the past;
the darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
We need to trust in the Lord. Trusting in God will get us through difficulties like nothing
else and will help us persevere. When we trust in the Lord our future will be secure.
Psalms 37:5 ‘Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this’
Trusting in the Lord is key in developing the art of perseverance.
People need to learn to persevere. Perseverance is not comfortable but it helps you look at
life and issues differently. The modern person is not patient. He wants everything now.
We have to be like farmers who plant and await till the harvest.
LEARN TO PERSEVERE.