The Closet Professor

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

—Galatians 6:9

Perseverance is vital to growing in our faith, and God wants us to persevere no matter what happens, so we have to learn how to overcome obstacles, difficulties, trials, and tribulation to triumph over adversity. We have two choices when faced with hardship – trust in God or quit and abandon hope. We all have our fair share of adversity, as gay men, we often not only question our own faith because we were told it was a sin to be gay, but we also face others questioning our faith because we are gay. We must persevere and be servants of God. It is through service that we can be stronger in our faith. We can’t grow weary of our doing good, because the reward is greater when you consistently do your best for others.

The parable of the soils illustrates the difference between those who seem, for a short time, to have faith and those who have received true saving faith which produces a changed life. Matthew 13:18–23 says, “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” This parable does not imply that a true believer’s faith will never falter or fail, but that a person who possesses true saving faith will never fully or finally fall away because God will sustain their faith. 

Some days it’s difficult to rise and shine. It may not be in us to shine that day, but it won’t be every day. Good will come along, especially if we have faith. So, on those days when we can’t bring ourselves to shine, we just need to rise and grind our way through so that we can make it to another day no matter how difficult it may seem. In times of adversity, big or small, remember to have faith in God, and that faith will allow us to persevere.