Finding God’s favor through perseverance

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:14

Psychologist Martin Segilman of the University of Pennsylvania advised the MetLife insurance company to hire a special group of job applicants who, although they had failed a normal aptitude test, tested high on optimism. So the company participated and observed these workers over time.

They were shocked, then, to observe that compared with salesmen who passed the aptitude test but scored high in pessimism, this group made 21 percent more sales in their first year and 57 percent more in their second.

Explaining this phenomenon, Dr. Segilman reasoned that a pessimist is likely to interpret rejection as meaning, “I’m a failure; I’ll never make a sale.” Yet when optimists fail, they tell themselves, “I’m using the wrong approach,” or, “That customer was in a bad mood.” By blaming failure on the situation, not themselves, optimists are motivated to make that next call and experience success.

As Christians, we’re also called to be optimists. When we give things our best and they don’t go our way, we can safely say that it wasn’t God’s will and He has something better planned. So instead of expecting the worst, keep your head up and press on, knowing that God’s plan is perfect and He’ll always show you His favor!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you see His favor in every situation—even when it doesn’t go your way!

Questions for thought

How should living with a heavenly perspective change your outlook on everyday life?

What can you change today to help you better persevere through life’s setbacks?