Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. —James 1:12
The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is crucial for how we think about trials and whether we will remain steadfast.
Puritan Thomas Watson writes in 1692:
Would we persevere? Let us seek God’s power to help us. We are kept by the power of God. The child is safest when it is held in the nurse’s arms; so are we, when we are held in the arms of free grace. It is not our holding God, but his holding us, that preserves us. When a boat is tied to a rock, it is secure; so, when we are fast tied to the Rock of Ages, we are impregnable. O engage God’s power to help you to persevere.
A Body of Divinity, p. 288.