What do you do when you have already done all you can? You are in trouble and there is no way out. You are sick and the doctors have done all they can. You are persecuted and there is no relief. You have made every effort, tried every option, and still see no way out. The matter is out of your hands. What do you do now?

The question seems contradictory. After all, if you have done all you can do, then there is nothing left to do, is there? Well, there is the old saying, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” If that doesn’t seem very helpful, think about this:

When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the end of the world, He warned them that things would get out of control. Nation would rise against nation, there would be earthquakes, famines, wars, persecutions. Brother would betray brother, He said, and many faithful people would lose their lives. All of this warns of a time when things will be completely beyond our control.

Then, when He had told them all these things, He told them the most important thing of all. He said this: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

So you have done all that you can. You have met your problems head on, you have fought against the devil to the end of your strength, and you seem to have lost. Your life is no longer in your own hands, and your hands are tied. The devil’s millions have put you in jail, slammed and bolted the door, and have thrown away the key. Your life is out of your hands now.

Well, not quite. There is still one more thing you can do–you can endure. That which endures, lasts. It has staying power. It does not quit or give up–even when defeated. Those who are going to be saved, then, must have staying power. There are people who win, not because they are bigger, better, or smarter, but because they have one thing their opponent does not. Call it grit, determination, or even stubbornness, but they simply outlast their enemy.