"Grit"

/grit/: courage and resolve; strength of character

For my birthday my father got me a necklace and a stone that had the word grit on it along with a whole paragraph about what it means to have grit. Before I received this gift, I had never heard grit being used as an adjective to describe a person. I had only ever heard it in the context of talking about sandpaper. Prior to writing this blog, I wanted to know what it truly meant to have grit. The first thing I did was google grit, and to my surprise, it actually popped up as an adjective, not to describe sandpaper. The Oxford Dictionary defines grit as, “courage and resolve; strength and character.” I clicked on multiple links that talked about people who have grit and what makes them different. There was one word that was repetitive in all the definitions and articles that I read: perseverance. According to The Oxford Dictionary perseverance means, “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” Therefore, in order to have grit, we must have perseverance.

Jesus is a great example of someone who has grit and the author of Hebrews is telling us to also have grit. During the times where we are battling sin or going through battles and struggles, we should fix our eyes on Jesus and persevere. That’s exactly what grit is, enduring the pain and staying fixed on the end goal. We are given a perfect example of how to live with grit: Jesus. Hebrews 12: 1-3 says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Knowing that He would be crucified on a cross, the most painful and worst way of dying back then, he persevered. He continued healing people with miracles, He continued to disciple and do what He knew God put Him on earth to do. He then gave himself up and died on the cross. Jesus was fully God but also fully human. While enduring his crucifixion, He felt emotions, physical pain and the pressures of the world just like we do.

So what does this mean to me? The Bible tells us, “because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted,” (Hebrews 2:18). If you live and breathe on this earth, you will go through times of pain and struggle. But we have someone that we can fix our eyes on in those times. Because Jesus felt the same emotions, physical pain, and pressures we do, He understands all that we go through, and He is who we can look to when we feel as though we can’t endure it anymore. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 7-9, Paul is talking to the city of Corinth about suffering and says this, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” The treasure that Paul refers to is the Spirit of Jesus. He says we are not crushed, not in despair, not abandoned, and NOT destroyed. Though we are going through times of pain, darkness, stress, or even failure, we should have hope. When we have the Spirit of Jesus with us, we have exactly what we need to have grit. Paul has been through it all, He knows what it is to have everything and then to have nothing, to be without pain and with extreme pain. He talks about all of it in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. Paul had grit, but he credits God to giving him the strength and the ability to endure it all.

I believe that if you have the Spirit of God inside you, then you can learn to have grit. I believe that God wants everyone to have the Spirit. All you have to do is accept Him with an open heart. Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, what you haven’t done, no matter what you’ve said or thought, God’s grace and love are abundantly available to you. Paul, formerly known as Saul, used to murder people who believed in Jesus. Jesus appeared to Him, opened his eyes, and changed his heart. He even changed his name, giving him a new identity in Christ. Paul became one of the greatest apostles in the New Testament, writing to the churches at that time. Having the Spirit of God doesn’t mean that you won’t endure pain or struggle. It means you will have hope and faith that God will not let a situation overcome you, that He will not desert you, and you are never alone. 2 Corinthians 3:12 says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

I pray that you have grit, that you are bold, that you exhibit your faith and that you trust in God.