STEADFASTNESS

REJOICING IN HOPE, PATIENT IN TRIBULATION, CONTINUING STEADFASTLY IN PRAYER."
Romans 12:12 (NKJV)

I. Rejoicing in hope (Romans 12:12).
II. Patient in tribulation (Romans 12:12).
III. Continuing steadfastly in prayer (Romans 12:12).

I. The fact that being diligent and fervent are continuous exercise, what you routinely do, thus, you would need a strong hope to be able to keep at the exercise.
One thing about hope is, If you are not enthusiastic about whatever you are doing, the exercise, your hope might soon be waned or ebbed. Thus, you need to keep rejoicing in hope, looking or seeing things that be not as If they are (Romans 4:17-20).
READ: Habakkuk 3:17,18

II. Patient in tribulation. Patient is also a strong attribute to keep you going when the going is rough—when It seems that you should quit. The race or journey to the heavenly planet is full of challenges. It is truly a narrow road as said by Christ Jesus: "BECAUSE NARROW IS THE GATE AND DIFFICULT IS THE WAY WHICH LEADS TO LIFE, AND THERE ARE FEW WHO FIND IT" (Matthew 7:14 NKJV). If you truly want to live and walk on the earth as a true disciple of Christ Jesus, you would suffer persecution: "YES, AND ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE GODLY IN CHRIST JESUS WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION" (2 Timothy 3:12 NKJV).

The persecution being talked about are the challenges you would be faced or confronted with as a believer in your Christian journey, in a bid to fulfil whatever assignment given to you. There are three main opposition of believers: the devil, the world, and the flesh.

a. The devil is the author of all evil, but he is crafty in his operations—he would not want to be known as the culprit, the one behind the predicament you are going through (Ephesians 6:11).
b. The world on the other hand are the alluring things of the world that would be beckoning to you and would want you to swerve in your commitment to the things of God and His Kingdom, but you should be able to mortify or stiffle or silence the flesh and not grant its desires or lustfulness (1 John 2:15-17).
The world being talked about could also mean the human beings who would be stirred, instigated, and be used to oppose you in your bid to live right for God and stand against you in the fulfilling of the assignment given to you by God.
c. Whilst the flesh is the adamic nature, your human nature, that would want you to continue doing those things that are unwholesome, sinfulness, which you were doing before you came to Christ Jesus. However, the admonition is, you should walk in the spirit that you might not fulfil the lust or desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

The persecutions or tribulations are meant to wear you out and cause you to be discouraged and eventually give up in a bid to fulfil your assignment and be back in the world. I have seen believers who started well in their heavenly race or journey but they are back in the world again after some time. The aim of the devil is to cause an average professed believer to be frustrated and be sent back to the world, and started living like the people of the world again, especially those who are diligent or fervent in their pursuit of God.

III. Continue steadfastly in prayer (Romans 12:12). To be steadfast is to be constant and steady in your believing, conviction and allegiance. In other words, believers are being admonished to be constant and steady in their faith, praying always.

Since a believer's journey is fraughted or loaded with tribulations, a constant and steady prayer life is needed to sail through. Believers continuity in the faith or the heavenly race would need to be substantiated or sustained through a continuous prayer.

So in all, believers are to be rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer in order to make it ultimately to the heavenly planet at the end of their journey on the earth (Romans 12:12).
You will not fail in Jesus' name. Peace.