One of the Bible's most consistent messages is to persevere, It's to carry-on, to keep on, even when things look bleak.

And For too many people, things have never looked more bleak; relentless suffering in the Middle East, assaults on funding for the poor and vulnerable in the U.S., persistent anxiety over the direction of democracy at home and abroad.

And amidst this all comes the hopeful message of the Jesus, one that we will hear echoed this weekend,

And that is to stay with it, remain calm, it will all be worth it in the end.

That famous theologian Woody Allen said that 80% of success is just showing up, as if showing up consistently is easy.

But God gives us strength to do just that, you have it inside of you because you have God inside of you, that touch of the Divine, that holy Spirit powered hopefulness to That reminds us that we can do it.

So throw all those other voices out. Stay with it. You've got this, you can do it!