The car screeched to a stop in front of the concentration camp. Opening the car door, the guard barked at me to follow him.

Metal bars lined the windows where I spotted my friend staring at me and shaking her head back and forth.

Fear gripped me. What had they done to her in two weeks? Oh Lord, I’ve already suffered so much. Now you want me to endure this?

I read Darlene Deibler Rose’s story in Evidence Not Seen and was challenged by her continued obedience to Christ.

She and her husband served as global workers in Papua New Guinea until World War II broke out. They were imprisoned, where her husband died and she endured four years of hell.

But rather than waver in her faith, Darlene’s testimony won others to Christ.

At the end of the war, she returned to America, remarried and returned to Papua New Guinea and Australia for many more years. 

What fueled her longevity for Christ?

“For Christ’s love compels us…so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Darlene kept her eyes on Jesus. The same is true for other heroes of the faith, and it can be true for us.

Focusing on Jesus requires staying the course and setting aside distractions.

Troubles threaten to discourage and derail us. But as followers of Christ, we need to realize that “everything is for our benefit” to make us more Christ-like and to glorify God (2 Corinthians 4:15).

As we focus on the eternal and not the temporary, things are kept in proper perspective and we can keep going (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Even when circumstances don’t make sense, we choose to trust God because He is in control. We choose to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7-8). 

Longevity is marked by focusing on the goal: living each day for Jesus. No matter where life takes us or what life throws at us, our focus is the same. Loving Jesus to obey Him.