THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE
In our ever-increasing pace of life, with instant gratification, high speed internet, microwave popcorn and offers of losing 15kg in the first 10 days of the latest diet trend, how many of you reading this article would consider yourself a patient person?
We seem to be bombarded more and more with the latest offers of financial security, improved fitness, the perfect body type or shape (whatever that looks like) and yet I’m reminded through life’s day to day circumstances nothing worthwhile comes quickly or easily.
I read recently nothing great is created suddenly. The highest form of God’s creation – humans, take around 40 weeks from conception to the point where the new life is ready to be born. Then follows decades of growth, learning, character development to produce a life that can truly make a difference and leave a lasting legacy.
A diamond is created with great heat and enormous pressure and a lot of time! Did you know it takes much more heat to produce gold than it does tin? Of course, there is a place for tin in our world but to which would you rather be compared, tin or gold?
It is in the heat of the furnace; gold is refined and the dross or impurities removed. It is in the heat of the blacksmith’s forge, the steel is toughened, hardened and tempered to make it for its final use.
I shared recently with our team some of the encouragements with which the apostle Paul commended the young church at Thessalonica. This church perhaps only 3-5 years old were already exhibiting ‘work produced by faith, labour prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope’. (1 Thess 1:3)
Endurance or patience is an attribute just so vital to the life of faith perhaps even more so now, in the times in which we live. James puts it this way – “count it all joy” (or pure joy as another translation puts it) “when you go through various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” James 1:2 (NKJV).
There is clear evidence of the fruit that is to be harvested from a time of testing or trial – patience or perseverance. This is the gold to be taken from the times of trial and testing. I love the next line from James in this famous passage – “Perseverance (patience) must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything” (James 1:4 NIV)
Not long before He was crucified, Jesus was reassuring His followers a Helper (Holy Spirit) was going to come and be with them. He told them of the things that were to happen in the days following and concluded this time of teaching by saying to them “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). The Greek word here for peace contains far more than our English word. It has within its meaning security, safety, prosperity, quietness and rest.
The Prince of Peace makes this promise to us!
We can take great courage and strength from these words. Come what may, we have an Advocate, Saviour and friend, One who has conquered death and the grave. One who has experienced all we face in this world, but has also overcome and won a most magnificent victory for all those who would call on His Name!
Paul exhorts Timothy, his young protégé to pursue - (literally to run swiftly in order to catch, seek after earnestly in order to acquire) righteousness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
This isn’t a ‘passive activity’ – waiting for God to drop these traits into our lap. We are to pursue them. One of the ways I believe we can more successfully pursue patience and the other wonderful attributes of which Paul speaks, is to allow the Lord to work in our lives in the MIDST of the trials.
I’ve been on the planet long enough to have my share of trials, tests and hardships. However, I can look back with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and testify to the Lord’s hand at work in each and every situation – be it sickness, relationship challenges, financial loss, retrenchment, unemployment, grief and so many more. If I’m honest, I wasn’t experiencing great joy in the midst of these trials but praise God He sustained me and brought me through - and always to a better place!
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us we inherit the promises (of His Word) through faith and patience. (Heb 6:12). In the ‘instant’ society in which we live, we would prefer to inherit the promises without the patience ‘component’. However, as I have said many times before, if you want Kingdom results, you have to do life the Kingdom way. In my experience there are no short cuts to a life of character, integrity and holiness.
Nothing of any lasting value comes without a cost, hard work and patience. My wife and I have been working on our marriage for nearly 4 decades and there are still areas in which we can improve (speaking for myself of course). However I can testify to our marriage improving with each passing year. We both have had (and will to continue to have) many opportunities for patience to grow and ‘have it’s perfect work’, simply because our desire is ‘to be mature and complete lacking nothing’.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, as we intentionally host more of the Spirit’s presence in our lives, I believe we will see more of the Spirit’s fruit displayed. It’s a given that as He takes more of His rightful place, we see more of His character manifested in our daily life.
Perhaps you are still on the wrong side of your breakthrough and in the natural it seems so far off. Perhaps there are still some promises or prophetic words yet to be fulfilled.
There are probably very few people to which this wouldn’t apply. The Bible says “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness but is long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9)
He is the only One who is faithful and true to His Word. That which He said He will do He will indeed do in His perfect timing – great is His faithfulness!
May I encourage you to keep pushing through in the midst of whatever circumstance in which you find yourself and to trust the One who holds the universe in His Mighty Hands to work all things for your good – if you love God and are called according to His purpose, that is a rock-solid promise on which you can carve your name (Rom 8:28).
The river breaks through the rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.