This is an excerpt from She Just Won’t Quit by Kaitlin Chappell Rogers.
When I zoom out and attempt a bird’s eye view at my entire life thus far, I can pinpoint God’s pursuit of me in so many instances. As a little girl growing up with teenage parents in a small trailer in Alabama. As a teenager myself feeling less than and lost. As a college student straddling the fence of living like the world and living like Jesus. There are even specific days I can go back to and find God’s hand protecting, providing, and pursuing me relentlessly.
And then it all makes sense – the only reason I ever kept going was because of God’s persistent pursuit of my heart.
Our perseverance is possible because of God’s persistent pursuit of our hearts.
Ultimately, the only reason we can run our race with endurance is because God loves us and chases after us. That is what opens the door to a life filled with tenacity, strength, and the grit to keep going despite obstacles and discouragement. He is the perfecter of perseverance and gave us Jesus as a living, breathing example of how to finish this life in such a way that invites a “Well done” from the Father.
I recently read a line in my boys’ Jesus Storybook Bible that stopped me in my tracks: “He just couldn’t stop loving him.” We were reading the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, adapted for young children to understand. But that one line summed it all up for me – no matter what the son did, the father just couldn’t quit loving him.
It’s the same for us, you know?
Let’s revisit the last half of Hebrews 12:2 – “For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We are the joy that lay before Him as He willingly endured the cross and the gut-wrenching agony that came with it. He loved us so much and despised shame so much that He sacrificed His own life.
The work of the cross is the pinnacle of His pursuit of us, but when we look around and look at our lives, we will see that His perfect perseverance is always on display. The way He loves and gives is not haphazard or flippant. He has a plan and purpose for every single thing. From trees to oceans to the people we meet and the paths we cross, He is constantly working it all out for His glory and our good. There is no other god who constantly fights on behalf of His people in this way.
It’s an ongoing love story between the Creator of the Universe and us, His creations. He knows just what we need to live lives marked by everyday perseverance, and He sets us up to succeed. So far, I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t have a story of a time they wanted to give up on belief, faith, love, or something in between. And, so far, I haven’t met anyone who didn’t find a way to hold on and press in.
I host a podcast called The Comeback Couch where I interview people from all walks of life as they share their stories of hope, healing, and holding on when it would have been easier to give up. Every story is unique and loaded with setbacks and struggles. But every story is also laced with courage that very clearly comes from Christ.
The interviews consistently stir my faith and send me searching for the ways God has and still is showing up in my life. And I hear from podcast listeners on the same treasure hunt.
We always find the gold because tracing His goodness reminds us His faithfulness never runs out. What He did for her, He will do for me. What He did before, He will do again.
This race is not one we run on our own or in our own strength. And the battles we face along the way are not against flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens” (Eph. 6:12). We are not waging war on other people as we run but on principalities of darkness and evil trying to take us all out.
Make no mistake – we win in the end. We are on the winning team, and we already have the victory. And we don’t win, we don’t finish running, and we don’t get to the good part because of our own hard work or personality traits – it’s all because of the way God loves and carries us.
Running a half marathon would be a whole lot easier if I had someone carrying me through the hardest parts, the moments when I wanted to turn around and go home. And that’s the reality of the race of faith each of us participates in morning, noon, and night. We never stop running, but He never stops loving.
The last few words of Hebrews 12:2 tell us that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He knew how His story would end too. He knew He’d be seated by His Father, welcoming His children into Heaven. He had the end in mind too. He had me and you in mind always.
Living with that truth in our own minds, running knowing we will finish well because He has already sealed the deal… that changes everything. On days we’re moving slowly, on days we are walking with weary hearts, on the miles that feel impossible to complete, we don’t lose hope because we have read the last page and watched the final scene. We know how our story ends, and we know the Author of it all is the One guiding us and granting us the grace we need to get there.
About Kaitlin Chappell Rogers
Kaitlin Chappell Rogers is a former broadcast news reporter and NASA social media specialist who now hosts The Comeback Couch Podcast, diving into the stories of those who have faced major setbacks and experienced comebacks. Kaitlin is a proud wife and mom to three little boys. She is on staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries as a social media coordinator and discusses her faith as a monthly guest on WAFF 48 News Tennessee Valley Living in a segment called “Candid with Kaitlin.” She has contributed to Her View from Home and other digital outlets and is a dynamic speaker at women’s events and conferences. She is passionate about seeing women live freely in the love of God.
About She Just Won’t Quit
In She Just Won’t Quit, writer, speaker, and podcast host Kaitlin Chappell Rogers encourages women to rediscover the truth that they are already equipped to keep going—even in the darkest moments of their lives.
She Just Won’t Quit is an invitation to become a woman who refuses to give up—not because life is easy, but because you know God is up to something. He is working in the difficult moments that make you want to quit and providing you with the strength to persevere, one small and faithful step at a time.o hear God’s voice. By listening to God’s voice and obeying Him, women will be drawn into a closer relationship to God that brings a deeper desire to serve Him faithfully.
