{"id":8535,"date":"2026-03-08T17:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T21:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/?p=8535"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:00:55","slug":"words-for-today-perseverant-resilient-steadfast-by-doug-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/?p=8535","title":{"rendered":"“Words for Today: Perseverant, Resilient, Steadfast,” by Doug Bennett"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, March 8, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair warning:  it is words that that I have been thinking about, and some of you know how fond I am of words.  I have been thinking about how some words help us with spiritual matters, and some are less helpful.  I\u2019ve been thinking about useful language for the inward landscape, to draw on the title of one of my favorite Quaker books.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 117 <\/strong>Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 <\/sup><\/strong>For great is his steadfast love toward us;
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!  <\/em>(RSV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s Psalm 117.  It is the shortest of the Psalms, and often used as a call to worship.  It seems like a good way to begin what I have to say, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is what is on my mind today:  what do these times call us to do?  Of course we all have our ordinary lives: work, children, spouses, grocery shopping, laundry.  But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m thinking about.  I\u2019m thinking about the overwhelming national crisis in which we find ourselves: immigration cruelty; illegal tariffs; Iran and Venezuela and Cuba; election fixing; corruption; politicization of the judicial system; tyranny.  I know I\u2019m drifting into political topics, maybe crashing into political topics, but sometimes, we can\u2019t live our ordinary, personal lives without finding ourselves, at every turn, facing political matters.  \u201cThe personal is the political.\u201d  Are you old enough to remember that phrase?[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me it is like being lost in a thick cloud.  It\u2019s hard to see; hard to know which direction is forward; hard to know what is mine to do.  Unusually hard.  I find myself looking for guidance from people and from organizations I trust. How do we face this?  What should be our posture in getting through this, or, better, in resisting?  Our posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently picked up an American Friends Service Committee newsletter.  It used the word \u201cperseverance\u201d to tie together its initiatives on behalf of justice and peace in these trying times.  AFSC is calling itself \u2013 and calling us \u2013 to persevere. To endure.  It calls us to stay the course, to be strong, not to be dismayed or discouraged by the wrecking ball that the current administration is taking to policies and alliances, to principles and values.  A few days later the same message came from QUNO \u2013 the Quaker United Nations Office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerseverant;\u201d there\u2019s a posture. \u201cPerseverant\u201d is one of those words that came over to English from French after the Norman conquest.  Its first uses in English seem to be from the 14th<\/sup> century, and it has Latin roots.  To my ear, it\u2019s a bit of an old-fashioned word, one more commonly used a century ago than today.  Maybe that\u2019s the point: it\u2019s a call to stick with the course we were on before this crisis, pursuing equality, justice, democracy, rule of law, and peaceful relations among nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a day or so later I picked up a recent report from the Friends Committee on National Legislation.  They used a different word to tie together a host of their initiatives regarding the current crisis: \u201cResilient.\u201d  Resilience means “the act of rebounding or springing back,” or \u201cthe capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties.\u201d  It is a word that comes into English from Latin in the 17th<\/sup> century, but its usage was relatively rare and largely technical until very recently — about 25 years ago.  Then it quickly came to be an organizing concept for ecology and the environment, and its use then rapidly widened to comprehend the ability of persons and communities also to bounce back from adversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerseverant,\u201d \u201cResilient\u201d:  Both words encourage us to be strong.  \u201cPerseverance\u201d reminds us this is likely to be  a prolonged struggle and urges us to stay the course.  \u201cResilience\u201d reminds us we\u2019re likely to have some setbacks and we\u2019ll need to pick ourselves up and keep going.  Still, I think AFSC and FCNL are telling us pretty much the same thing.  We need to stand tall, to be strong; we must not be discouraged, we need to bounce back.  That is are the guidance we are hearing from them.  It is useful guidance I think we can agree: these are rallying words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear with me here.  Those two words, \u201cperseverance\u201d and \u201cresilience\u201d took to me to a book I regularly consult when I\u2019m following a spiritual line of thought or a spiritual wondering.  It\u2019s a Concordance.   A Concordance is a guide to finding words in the Bible, what they are and where. If I want to know where the word \u201criver\u201d shows up in the Bible, for example, or the word \u201cgrace,\u201d I can look it up in a Concordance and find all the verses that use that word.  I have an old King James Version of the Bible published in the late 19th<\/sup> century, and in the back, it has a Concordance.  The granddaddy Concordance is Strong\u2019s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible<\/em>.  It was first prepared in the 19th<\/sup> century and regularly updated since; it\u2019s a bigger, contemporary, scholarly Concordance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course this is a little tricky.  The Bible as we know it was written in Hebrew, in Aramaic (those are the languages of the Jewish Testament) and in Koine Greek (the language of the Christian Testament).  But we use the Bible in translation, in English.  So every time there\u2019s a new translation, there needs to be a new Concordance.  The new version likely translates some of the words differently than earlier ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still with me?  Here\u2019s the thing: \u201cperseverance\u201d and \u201cresilience\u201d \u2013 those words — do not show up in the Bible, not in any of the translations we are likely to use.[3]<\/a>  The various Concordances don\u2019t contain those words.  These words, perseverance and resilience, however useful, are not Biblical words.  Is that odd?  Are those the words we should be using to find our posture in resisting, in seeking justice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put another way: does the Bible have different guidance for us?  Are the words it would have us use different?  Well, yes, and no, and that\u2019s what\u2019s on my mind today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a phrase in the Bible \u2013 it appears dozens (maybe hundreds) of times — that says something akin to what AFSC and FCNL are saying:  \u201cFear not.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, here is Isaiah 41:10: \u201cFear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is Jesus, in Luke 12:32:  \u201cFear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these passages (and many others) God isn\u2019t saying \u2018lie back, do nothing, I\u2019ll take care of it.\u2019  Rather, God is telling us we may have work to do; we may have to put our backs into it, but God will be with us, always.  That\u2019s why we do not have to be afraid.  \u201cPerseverance\u201d and \u201cResilience\u201d put the emphasis on what we humans have to do; \u201cFear not\u201d puts the emphasis on \u2018God with us\u2019 as we do what needs doing.  It brings God back in.  I think that\u2019s an important shift of focus, a different posture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is another word that also is used frequently in the Bible that helps us see the same thing. It is the word \u201csteadfast.\u201d Steadfast means “unshakable, resolute; firm and fixed in purpose.\u201d  It\u2019s a very old English word.  It\u2019s another \u201cstrength\u201d word, like perseverant and resilient.  Many of the Biblical uses of \u201csteadfast\u201d are in the Old Testament \u2013 and many of those occasions are in the Psalms, so they are in Hebrew.  The Hebrew word by the way is \u201chesed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the thing.  When \u201csteadfast\u201d shows up in the Bible, it is not to describe what we are like, or what we should be like or what our posture should be. Rather, \u201csteadfast\u201d is used as an assurance of what God is like.  And what God is like is strength wrapped around love<\/em>.  The word points to God\u2019s unwavering, loyal, covenant love. There is strength in that.  It points to God\u2019s mercy, and kindness; \u201csteadfast\u201d is a combination of love, loyalty, and generosity.  Such steadfast love is not passive; it is love in action.  It is the strongest force there is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible assures us that God\u2019s love is steadfast.  And it calls us to rise to God\u2019s love with a steadfast faith.  Yes, we must be strong \u2013 perseverant and resilient.  Yes, we must \u201cfear not.\u201d  But we need to do this in the embrace of God\u2019s steadfast love \u2013 and let that be our guide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSteadfast\u201d is used in the short Psalm I read at the beginning:  Psalm 117: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 <\/sup><\/em><\/strong>For great is his steadfast love toward us;
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having started with the 117th<\/sup> Psalm, let me close with these words from the 130th<\/sup> Psalm:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 130 \u20267 <\/sup><\/em><\/strong>O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plenteous redemption.
<\/em>8 <\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.  <\/em>(RSV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSteadfast\u201d is a word for the inward landscape.  Relying on a steadfast God, let us, too, be steadfast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also posted on River View Friend<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Brian Drayton and William P. Taber, Jr., A Language for the Inward Landscape: Spiritual Wisdom from the Quaker Movement <\/em>(Philadelphia: Tract Association of Friends, 2015). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cFeminist and writer Carol Hanisch’s essay titled \u2018The Personal is Political\u2019 appeared in the anthology Notes From the Second Year: Women’s Liberation<\/em> in 1970, and is often credited with creating the phrase. However, in her introduction to the 2006 republication of the essay, Hanisch wrote that she did not come up with the title. She believed “The Personal Is Political” was selected by the editors of the anthology, Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt, who were both feminists involved with the group New York Radical Feminists. Some feminist scholars have noted that by the time the anthology was published in 1970, “the personal is political” had already become a widely used part of the women’s movement and was not a quote attributable to any one person.\u201d  https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/the-personal-is-political-slogan-origin-3528952<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Actually, Ephesians 6:18 in the KJV does use \u201cperseverance\u201d:  18 <\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, March 8, 2026 Fair warning:  it is words that that I have been thinking about, and some of you know how fond I am of words.  I have been thinking about how some words … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-message"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9rLvf-2dF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8535"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8544,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8535\/revisions\/8544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}