How Do I Keep Going When I Have Nothing Left?

A sermon by Michael Miner
Watch the message above, or read the full transcript below.

8/9/2026

What do you do when you’ve reached the end of your strength?
Perseverance isn’t about carrying more.
It’s about learning to walk with Jesus.

Introduction

I was talking to a preacher friend of mine, and I want to lead off by saying this — and this is for everyone in the room: you have persevered. The very fact that you are in this room indicates that you have had some type of perseverance in your life. My goal with God today is to communicate that it really does matter how we walk through perseverance.

The Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever. One more time — the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 1:1–9

Let's read from Second Peter, starting at chapter one, verses one through nine.

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
2 To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
3 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank You for this opportunity, and I thank You for every person, either in the room, viewing the livestream, or watching this later. Holy Spirit, I'm asking that You would come — that You would touch, convict, and move, and show what's needed in each individual's life. Father, this is a personal walk with You, so I'm asking for Your Word, and that You would speak to every heart.

Would You come and stir our spirits, that we would be one with You? Would You burn away the things that hinder us from giving our all to You? God, help us grow in understanding the fear of the Lord, that when You walk into the room, we honor You, we revere You, and we give You Your rightful place.

God, I'm asking that You would help me and everyone here, that we would endeavor to give You center stage and center place in our hearts and in our lives. I ask this in Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Setting the Context

Peter was writing to believers in the diaspora. If you go back to First Peter, he opens the book by explaining that he was writing to the Christians who had been scattered — persecution had broken out, and believers had to move and spread out. Peter wanted to encourage them, and he also combats false teaching. He wants to help them grow, and that's where we get to this idea of perseverance. I wanted to set the stage with that before we go further.

Defining Perseverance

We're going to use the word perseverance for today's message. Some of your translations may use the word patience. Some use steadfastness, and some use endurance. You may hear me use the word endurance from time to time, but it's all pointing to the same idea. Our language, or the Greek language behind it, can be complex and uses different words to capture the same meaning. Your translation may use one of those other words, but for today, we're using perseverance.

Here is the definition I like to use:

Perseverance is the steadfast loyalty of a person who remains faithful to God and unwavering in fulfilling His purpose, despite trials, adversity, or opposition.

In Revelation chapter three, Jesus commanded the church in Philadelphia to persevere. Now, that was written to the church in Philadelphia. But remember, those letters were written to be circulated to all seven churches. So the command to persevere is really for all seven churches. And not only for those seven, but for every church under the Lordship of Jesus, including us.

God's commandment to you and to me is to persevere. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that we all have need of perseverance, or we all have need of endurance.

What Perseverance Is Not: Burden vs. Perseverance

Before we get to endurance, I want to explain what it's not.

In life, we have burdens, and a burden is something that's carried. Perseverance, on the other hand, is a continued effort or action done to achieve something. So a burden is something you carry; perseverance is an action or effort that leads to something.

Burdens are weights. There's a weightiness to a burden, and with that weightiness comes anxiety, worry, and fear of the unknown. That's the weightiness of a burden. Perseverance, by contrast, deals more with your will. There's a will within an individual that allows them to persevere. I'll be honest — there are people who aren't believers who understand how to persevere. That's where we get words like "this person has grit" or "this person has tenacity," because they have the ability to stick with it. But it's the will. Perseverance is a will, a determination.

A burden also carries guilt — guilt of past failures, guilt of sin, and even, I have to say, the shame of a forgiven sin. That weightiness still lingers. But here's what's important, and why I'm distinguishing between the two: a burden is something we're supposed to give to Jesus. It's a trade, an exchange. That's why Jesus says in Matthew 11, "Come unto Me, all you who are heavy laden," and He will give us rest.

It's the same reason Peter tells believers in 1 Peter chapter five that God cares for them — that it literally matters what happens in their lives — and then he tells them to do what? "Cast all your cares upon the Lord." Why? "Because He cares for you."

So the difference between a burden and perseverance is this: a burden is something we give — we hand it to Jesus and receive rest in exchange. Perseverance, on the other hand, is God calling you to partner with Him. This will make more sense as we walk through it, but rest assured — when you're persevering, you're endeavoring to partner with Jesus.

God's Threefold Purpose

Let's keep going. As we learn how to persevere, I believe God's purpose in it is threefold.

First, God's kingdom is extended to all. God wills that none should perish, but that all people would come to repentance. That's 2 Peter 3:9.

Second, once we come to repentance, God's kingdom comes in us. Two things need to happen here. In Philippians 2, God tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. When we accept the kingdom of God, it's our job to work with Him to live out the salvation He has placed in us. Then, in Romans 8, we're told that we are to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus. That's the kingdom coming in us.

But there's a third aspect — and if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Romans chapter five. The first two purposes you've probably heard preached before, but it's this last one I really want to highlight: God's kingdom through us.

Reigning in Life

Romans 5:17 says: For if by the one man's offense (speaking of Adam) death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

When you and I learn how to persevere, and we do it God's way, we begin to step into advancing God's kingdom. We begin to learn how to reign in life. What I love about Revelation chapter one is that it says Jesus has made us kings and priests unto His Father.

Reigning in life is learning how to exercise the authority God has given us — first in our own lives, where we walk in victory over our own sins and struggles. But then, as we reign in life, God can trust us with His authority to bring restoration, to bring healing into situations, to bring healing when there's sickness, and to change the atmosphere when we walk into a situation. That's what God wants to do. That's why perseverance is so important — because God uses it to test us. That's what we'll look at next.

Two Lenses for Understanding Perseverance

When we look at the elements God uses to produce perseverance, we first have to look at it through two lenses.

First, God is love, and everything God does is always motivated out of love.

Second, God does everything on purpose. Let me challenge you with this thought: there used to be a time in my life when I always wanted to know the why. "Why, God, why?"

Can I challenge you to move from asking "Why?" to instead asking God, "What is Your purpose?" Because God does everything on purpose.

Let me go a step further. The older I've gotten, and the longer I've walked with God, I've realized there are certain things you're not going to get an answer to on the "why" side. It's beyond us. God's wisdom is higher than our wisdom; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. You're not going to get a "why" for every instance.

But if we endeavor to ask God, "What is Your purpose?" then God delights in saying, "Now, My child, let Me unpack for you what I'm doing — what I'm trying to accomplish in you and on My behalf, to advance My kingdom."

The First Element: Tribulation

Now let's look at the elements God uses to produce, or yield, perseverance.

The first element is tribulation. If you want to call it trouble, you can call it that. Romans 5:3 says, "And not only that, we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces" what? Perseverance. And what is our goal for perseverance? We want to be individuals who are steadfast, loyal, faithful to God, and unwavering in His purposes. So tribulation produces perseverance.

Jesus went a step further in John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace." Watch this: "In the world you will have tribulation." But here's the hope, and never forget this: "But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

I'm using the word "tribulation" here to encapsulate everything — the pain we experience, the uncertainties in life, the loss we've experienced this past year. Our church has experienced great loss. Understand this: tribulation comes because we live in a fallen world. Rest assured, everyone in this room, including myself, will encounter trouble. You will encounter tribulation, pain, and loss, which is why I said from the very start: God is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Here's what begins to happen as these elements unfold in your life and mine. As tribulation, loss, pain, suffering, and persecution come. Inevitably, the question arises: Is God really good? And if we're not careful how we answer that question, it will dictate how we move forward.

Facing the Enemy's Accusations

Let's say you're able to say, "Yes, God, even in the midst of this, You are good." What inevitably happens next is the enemy comes in and says, "But wait, Let's look at your faithfulness to God. Let's look at how you've come up short. You don't measure up." That's when you and I say, "The Lord's mercy endures forever."

The older I get, and the longer I walk with God, the more profound this truth of mercy becomes to me, because I know what I've been forgiven of. I know what God has spared me from. And the more I press in to understand that God is good and that His mercy endures forever, something begins to happen. Not only does my love and affection for Him grow, but my capacity to extend grace and mercy to others grows exponentially too. That's why this matters so much. Rest assured, as you go through tribulation, these are the dynamics that will play out in your life. And it's amazing — God is using this to test us.

Let me read something to you from Proverbs 17:3: "The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts."

By the end of this sermon, whether you agree with this or not. You will be tested, and I will be tested. It's part of God's training ground.

Partnering with Jesus Through Tribulation

The next thing I want to look at is key: when you're going through tribulation, this is where we begin to partner with Jesus.

Proverbs 2:6 says that "the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." There's an idea of partnering with God here. When I go through loss, suffering, or persecution, I need wisdom from the Lord, and as I interact with Him, He begins to give me the knowledge and understanding I need for how to act in that situation.

I don't want to get too far ahead, but over the six years I served as a board member here, I can't tell you how many trials and testings we had to go through. But we endeavored to seek the Lord to gain His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding on how to move forward. It's no different for you and me individually. For everything we face, we need God's wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that comes from Him.

This isn't to belittle counsel. I'm fully in favor of getting counsel from brothers and sisters whenever I can't figure something out or need another perspective. But I'm not in favor of doing that at the expense of my individual relationship with God, because Scripture says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." If there's one thing that grieves and breaks my heart when I look at the church universally, it's that there is a famine among the people of God when it comes to seeking Him, to hearing Him.

The Second Element: Trials and Testings

The next element is trials and testings. James put it this way: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

God is going to test you, and He's going to test me. He's going to send trials your way, and He's going to send trials my way. Do I totally understand why He does it? No. But do I understand His heart and what He's trying to accomplish? Absolutely.

Look at Job — probably one of the best examples of an individual facing incredible trials. He lost his wealth. He lost his family — all in a matter of moments.

But before that happens, go back and read the book of Job. It opens up with a particular phrase about Job: he was blameless, he was upright, he was a man who feared the Lord and shunned evil. Later on, you'd read that this is actually what God Himself said about Job.

I love reading in the Bible what people say about others, but I love even more hearing what God Himself says about people. About David, God says, "I have found in David a man after My own heart, and he will do all My will." About Job, God Himself says, "He's blameless, upright, one who fears the Lord and shuns evil."

Here's a question for you. What does God say about your life? I've asked that question myself, and I won't share today what God has said about my own life, but I've asked Him, "God, what do you see when You see me?" That's your homework assignment Ask God the same question. Go to the Word, because the Word always tells the truth about our identity. Rest assured, as you continue to develop a hearing ear, God will begin to speak words to you about you specifically: what He thinks about you, how you make Him feel, what moves His heart about your life. That's what we're after.

Joseph is another example. He endured incredible trials, just as Job did. You and I will endure trials too. They're coming. You could be in one right now, or you could be headed toward one.

The Purpose of Testing

Let's move to testing. Testings are specific situations where God wants to confirm whether what you said is true. Or, He wants to reveal what's actually in you.

Psalm 105:19 says that the word the Lord had spoken about Joseph tested him. Rest assured, if God says something about you, He's going to test it. One, to see if you really mean it. But I think there's a better way to understand what God is doing. God isn't testing us for His own sake. He already knows where we are. His tests and trials are really for us, so that what's in our hearts comes to the surface. And once it surfaces, we can see whether it's in agreement with what God's Word says, or whether we need to repent and let God bring us into alignment.

A Personal Example of Testing

Let me give you an example of a testing. I was at work, and a situation arose with one of my previous supervisors. I explained that I didn't feel like this individual supported me, and the conversation became heated. Well, I shouldn't say very heated, because I don't tend to get visibly angry, but it was tense. In the course of it, after the conversation, the Holy Spirit began to show me my own error. So I went back to this person, my manager, and I repented and asked forgiveness. I said, "This is my part in this issue."

Let me tell you what that did. First, it caused this individual to recalibrate. So much so that, this manager became one of my strongest advocates. Whenever we had team meetings or team lunches, or later on, when there were retirements, she would ask me to lead in prayer before we ate, because she knew my faith walk. She was also a believer.

But rest assured. Had I stayed in that testing, had I not humbled myself and asked, "God, what's my part in this?" That situation would have gone completely the wrong way. Now I want to go back and say something about burdens.

A Story About Burdens: Provider and Protector

As a man, a husband, and a father, God has wired me to be a provider and a protector. If I'm not careful, the weight of being a provider and protector can become overwhelming. It can become suffocating at times. It's imperative for me to transfer that weight to Jesus and receive His rest. Over the past five years or so, God has really grown in me on this front.

Let me give you a story. One day, we were out and about, and (without naming names) the house was supposed to be locked. I thought it was locked. We came home, and our front door was wide open. Because I'm safety-driven, my first thought was to tell the whole family, "Everyone stay in the car. Dad's going to go in and clear the house." So I went through my tactical training and cleared the house.

After the whole situation, the Holy Spirit began to work with me again. Here's what got me: my first instinct was flesh. I wanted to keep my family safe: I'm going in first, no one else is going in, I'm keeping them safe. But the Holy Spirit said, "Michael, you didn't even invite Me in." The first thing I should have done was say, "Family, we need to pray. I don't know if there's danger in the house, but we need to pray. This is God's property. I'm God's man. Whatever happens, God will take care of it."

That's what I'm trying to say. A burden carries weight.

And for the ladies in the room...

My wife is an incredible mom and an incredible wife. Women, you are also providers and protectors. Go to Proverbs 31, and you'll clearly see that. But there is something unique in how God has made a woman. God has made a woman to be a helper.

There's a shirt I thought was incredible. On it were two columns: one side says "Mom," the other says "Dad," with questions being asked. On the Mom side: "Mom, I need help. Mom, where's my shirt? Mom, where's this? Mom, where's that?" On the Dad side, it simply says: "Dad, where's Mom?"

This is true in my house, and I think it's true in almost every house. Why? Because moms and women are such helpers. It's how God made you. But realize this, ladies. If you're not careful, the weightiness of being a helper — of making sure your home is built up in godliness, that your home is a welcoming atmosphere, that your kids are doing what they need to do — that weightiness can become suffocating. It can become paralyzing.

God wants you to transfer that to Him and receive His rest. That is not perseverance. When I'm talking about that weightiness, that's not perseverance. That's a burden that needs to be transferred so we can receive God's rest.

Relying on the Word of God

I'm almost ready to close here. The key with our testing and our tribulation is that we need the wisdom of God.

When I look at Jesus's life, He endured incredible trouble and persecution. His testing, I believe recorded in Luke 4, says the Holy Spirit led Him out into the wilderness to be tested. After forty days, He was tested. And, how did He pass that test? He relied on the Word of God. Every time the enemy came against Him, He said, "It is written."

For your test, and mine, we have to be able to say, "God is good." No matter what. And when the enemy brings up our failures, we remind him that the Lord's mercy endures forever.

Three Things I Love About God's Tests

Here's something I learned about God's tests — I heard a preacher say this, and I've held onto it.

First, all of God's tests are open book. When I was in school, I loved open-book tests, but only if I was prepared — if you hadn't read the material, an open-book test with twelve or fifteen chapters could be miserable. But I love that all of God's tests are open book.

Second, God is okay with you asking your neighbor. You can ask someone who's further along than you, someone who can give you biblical counsel, and God says, "That's okay." I never had that in my physical schooling.

Third, (and I never had this in school either, though I suppose the curve came close) if you don't pass God's test, it's coming back around. It may not be the exact same test, but God will bring the same lesson back around until we get it. That's the beauty of God's tests: we get to try again. Why? Because God is working out His purpose in us. God wants a church, and individuals, who are without blame: blameless, without blemish, ones who enter in to seek and save those who are lost.

Building a Track Record with God

I opened up talking about God's purposes. God invites everyone into His kingdom. He wants mature believers who can give a word and a testimony about their life and the goodness of God, and witness to who He is. So God's kingdom is for everyone. God's kingdom is in us. He wants us conformed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus, because He loves Him and He loves us. And God wants His kingdom to work through us, that we would learn how to reign in life.

I shared with some guys recently that I'm 54 now — still pretty young in some of your eyes, I get it. But I'm old enough now that I can look back on something. When I was in my 20s, I believed the Word of God was true regardless of whether anyone believed it or not. In my arguments and debates back then, I'd say, "This is truth, this is truth." Here's the beautiful part: now that I'm in my 50s, and this is only to the glory of God, I have a track record of God's faithfulness. I've lived this truth and seen the fruit of it in my own life.

If there's anything we've been able to accomplish with our family and our kids, it's because I made a commitment to God that I was going to do family His way. I came from a broken situation. My mom and dad divorced when I was very young, and I didn't have a dad growing up. There were a lot of pains and a lot of holes in my life. I'll never forget the day in a prayer room when God said to me, "Michael, you are My son, and nothing I ever did, and no failure of yours, will ever change that fact."

When Debra and I got married, we made a commitment that divorce was never on the table. In fact, we committed that the word "divorce" would never come out of our mouths. That's how firmly we held to what God said about His covenant. So when we'd get into arguments, this is literally what we would say to each other: "We're going to have to get over this, because if not, it's going to be miserable for both of us for the rest of our lives." I kid you not. And, it worked. Because who wants to go through marriage being miserable? We'd tell each other, "You're stuck. We have to figure this out." We held to that. Now, in my 50s, I can look back and say I have a track record, a history of walking with God.

If there's one thing I want you to hear, it's this:
the whole idea of perseverance is
that you and I need to develop a history, a track record,
of walking with God.

When I read the parable of the ten virgins, that's the whole idea behind it. The five wise virgins were the ones who had developed a history — the oil in their lamps represents their history with God.

Beloved, there are a lot of things in the kingdom — a lot of great teachers, a lot of great individuals who can expound on the Word of God. I'm all about podcasts, I'm all about teachings. But make no mistake — none of that can replace your individual history with God, and mine. God wants to walk with you. He wants to change you and transform you, and He will use testings, trials, and pain to do it. It's part of His plan. But rest assured, He says, "I've got this figured out. I want to bring about the brilliance I know is inside of you, and the only way to do that is to test you with fire. So let the fire come."

The Song of Solomon: North Winds and South Winds

That's what I love about the Song of Solomon. When you read it, the Shulamite says something profound, because the book is all about her coming to maturity. She says something to Solomon that, viewed a certain way, points to Christ — the Shulamite representing the church, and Solomon representing Jesus. The book does celebrate marital love, but since our earthly marriages don't last forever and there's only one marriage in heaven, I look at it from that lens: the Shulamite as the church, Solomon as Jesus.

She says, "Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind." She comes to a point of maturity, recognizing that the south winds — the nice breezes, the good times in life, the feel-good seasons when everything is going well — are not enough on their own to bring about the maturity God seeks. So she asks for the north winds too: the cold, the hardness, the tough times in life. She recognizes that in order to become mature, we need both: the south winds and the north winds working together to bring about God's maturity in our lives.

Closing Prayer

If you don't mind, let's stand together.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for every individual in this room. As Job wrote, "What is man, that You are mindful of him, that You have set Your heart upon him?" Heavenly Father, I pray that You would reveal Your love to every human heart here today — that You have set Your love upon each and every one of us. You know us by name. You created us. You formed us uniquely. You know every hair on our heads. You know our comings and our goings. God, I pray that You would mark us with the reality that You are good, and that Your mercy endures forever.

For every individual going through trouble right now — pain, loss. I pray that in their inner being they would be able to say, "The Lord is good. Even in the midst of the pain, You are good, and Your mercy endures forever." For the heart that struggles with "why," I pray they would shift to asking, "God, what is Your purpose? What are You trying to accomplish in my life right now? What is the brilliance You're trying to bring out? Speak to me, Lord." We were made to hear Your voice. Speak, Lord God.

God, I pray that we would not succumb to the temptation that overtook Adam and Eve in the garden. The first testing, in the midst of the garden, where there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil and a tree of life. As the enemy tempted Eve, she saw that the tree was desirable to make one wise, and she took and ate, and gave to her husband. God, there is a subtlety that tempts us to try to live life in our own wisdom, apart from You. I remind us, and I remind myself, that the Lord gives wisdom, and from Your mouth comes knowledge and understanding. This life was never meant to be lived apart from You. We were never destined to live apart from You.

So I'm asking. God, would You grip our hearts with this reality? Would You forgive us for trying to do life on our own, thinking we're smart enough, thinking we're skilled enough to do it without You? We were never meant or designed for that, God. You created a garden because You loved us and wanted to be with us. But we have to do it on Your terms, not our own.

So I'm asking for humility. I'm asking that the fear of the Lord would rest upon us. And a step further, Jesus declared that He delighted in the fear of the Lord. That is my prayer now: that I would grow to delight in the fear of the Lord.

God, we thank You. We praise You. There is no one like You. There is no god like the God we serve. Thank You. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen, and amen.

About Michael Miner

Michael Miner has been teaching and preaching the Word of God for more than 30 years, serving in churches through preaching rotations and Bible studies. He regularly serves on the worship team at C2 Church in Columbia, Missouri, where he plays drums and leads prayer services. He is devoted to studying God’s Word. Michael and Debra have been married for three decades and share a passion for following Jesus and encouraging others to do the same.

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