2025 Word of the Year: PERSEVERANCE and ENDURANCE

I kept seeing all of the posts about people’s word of the year for 2025. It got me thinking about if I want to do one for myself this year and if so what would it be.

The word PERSEVERANCE hit my spirit almost immediately. Then I thought about the message I heard today at Higher Trails Church about “What Do I Need?”. The main point today was about endurance and I thought, well, maybe that’s my word for 2025, they sound similar and both seem to fit so I looked up the meaning of both. ⬇️

➡️ PERSEVERANCE - continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition,

:the action or condition or an instance of persevering,

:STEADFASTNESS.

➡️ ENDURANCE - (1) the ability to withstand hardship or adversity, especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity (a marathon runner's endurance)

(2) the act or an instance of enduring or suffering

(endurance of many hardships)

As I sit and read both and think about 2024 and all of the challenges and changes, the hardships and broken hearts, the closed doors and no’s and the not gets, I can’t help but feel each of these perfectly sum up the year for me and as I wonder why God would put both in my spirit, I feel Him saying “Take these two reminders into 2025: PERSEVERANCE and ENDURANCE.”

What I thought were things meant to break or crush my spirit, or take away what I thought God had given me, allowed me the time to sink back to the background and push through the valley with God right by my side. No one can take credit for what God has done in my life in 2024, some things very visible and others quiet battles He and I fought alone.

It was my journey with God and along the way I know only He gave me the strength and courage to keep pressing forward in the foggy, sometimes dark and damp valley. My journey is not over just because 2024 is coming to close. In fact, I think this journey I have been on for the last five months is only the beginning of the journey through a long valley.

This valley gets scary.

This valley gets lonely.

This valley gets exhausting.

But this valley is a valley that I know ends in a beautiful new version of me that will be exactly what God needs for the next mountain top.

This valley will give new perspective.

This valley will give new revelation.

This valley will give new eyes and a new heart.

This valley will give new testimonies.

This valley will give new connections.

This valley will give new opportunities to plant seeds for the Kingdom.

But this kind of valley requires PERSEVERANCE and ENDURANCE.

This valley requires quiet, intentional time with God.

This valley requires a pruning of anything sucking energy and life.

This valley requires a mirror and a willingness to self reflect and allow the Holy Spirit to move, guide, & direct what changes need to be made.

This valley requires PERSEVERANCE and ENDURANCE so for 2025…I will have two words.

❤️🐑🙌✝️

James 1:2-4

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

Hebrews 10:36

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”

Galatians 6:9

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

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Romans 5:3-5

‭‭ “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

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