I Am So Glad I Needed to Persevere

I Am So Glad I Needed to Persevere

By Steve Backlund

This is a continuation of my last blog, “I Am So Glad It Was Hard”.

One of the most freeing truths I’ve learned is this: What we overcome (what we persevere in) becomes an area we carry spiritual authority and increased influence in to bring breakthrough and freedom to others.

James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

In Scripture, crowns are never used as a decoration. They represent authority, responsibility, and influence. Kings wore crowns because they ruled. James isn’t merely describing endurance, but he is revealing a Kingdom principle: perseverance qualifies us to reign and to positively influence others in specific areas of life.

Hard seasons don’t just shape our character, but they authorize our influence.

Authority Is Born in the Battle

Throughout Scripture, God consistently entrusted people with authority and increased influence in the very areas they first had to persevere in. Their battles were not detours; they were preparation. And their perseverance didn’t just change them, but it became the means through which God brought freedom, provision, and victory to others.

Here are five biblical examples of this pattern:

• Joseph — persevered through betrayal and injustice → released wisdom, provision, and survival to nations during famine

• Moses — persevered through failure, insecurity, and self-doubt → led an entire people out of slavery into freedom, and, ultimately victory

• David — persevered through rejection, fear, and delays → established courageous leadership and restored worship to a nation

• Esther — persevered through fear and personal risk → saved an entire people from destruction

• Paul — persevered through failure, shame, and persecution → released revelation of grace and established the early church

  
  

Each of these leaders gained more than personal victory; their perseverance produced authority that altered the future of others.

None of them were crowned before the battle. The crown, and the influence that came with it, was formed through perseverance.

And this Kingdom principle is still at work today.

My Crown Was Forged Battling Discouragement

One of the primary areas I have had to persevere in has been overcoming discouragement (and cultivating hope).

Discouragement is when you run out of courage before the battle is over. I needed to learn how to persevere through discouraging feelings. How did I do this? 

I realized that my tendency to be discouraged was a bigger problem than the situations I was discouraged about. I also discovered that my lack of hope about a problem was almost always more damaging than the problem itself. The key to overcoming these draining emotions was to uproot the lies creating them and replace the lie with truth. Circumstances were real, but discouragement distorted my perspective, drained vision, and weakened my ability to see solutions.

Once I recognized discouragement as the real battleground, I stopped merely trying to fix external problems and started renewing my thinking. I learned how to challenge hopeless thoughts instead of rehearsing them, speak truth to my soul instead of agreeing with my emotions, and choose hope intentionally rather than passively. I began to learn: 

• Those battles trained me

• They sharpened my discernment

• They strengthened my spiritual resilience

• They taught me how to build hope when circumstances refused to cooperate

  
  

I wouldn’t have chosen those seasons, but I wouldn’t trade what they produced. Because now, one of the strongest areas of authority and influence in my life is imparting courage and hope to others. I have a crown of life to influence people to: 

• Recognize the lies creating discouragement quickly

• Dismantle hopeless thinking with clarity

• Renew vision and purpose in their lives

  
  

This influence does not result from me studying it in theory, but because I persevered in it personally. What once felt like a liability became a platform of influence. What felt like warfare became preparation to release freedom.

Your Resistance Points to Your Crown

The area where you’ve faced the most resistance is the very place God is forming your authority. The battle that exhausted you is now the very thing that equips you to strengthen others.

So let me ask you a powerful question:

What have you already persevered in—and now carry a crown in?And how can you use that authority to serve someone else?

• Maybe you’ve walked through loss, and now you know how to impart strength and comfort without clichés

• Maybe you’ve battled fear, and you now have a gift to help others overcome it. 

• Maybe you’ve rebuilt after failure, and you can help others who have failed to rise up again. 

• Maybe you have persevered through addictive behavior, and now you have an anointing to bring freedom to those struggling to be free. 

• Maybe you’ve endured delay, and you can influence people how to wait with faith and joy.

  
  

You didn’t just survive those seasons, but you were being trained to lead from them.

And here’s one more question:

What challenge are you persevering in right now?

Because this isn’t just about you.

The pressure you’re feeling today is preparing you to bring freedom to others tomorrow. The area that requires your perseverance now is becoming the place where you carry the greatest authority later.

God never wastes perseverance. He turns it into crowns, and crowns are always meant to bless others more than the one wearing them.

So instead of asking, “Why is this so hard?”, let’s ask, “What freedom is God preparing me to release through this?”

Hard doesn’t disqualify us. It crowns us.

One day, you’ll look back and say with deep conviction: “I am so glad it was hard. I am so glad I persevered”