Are you persistent?

Nearly every day, I walk this lovely path to feed one of our horses.

 

But, there are dangers lurking here. In late summer and early fall spiders build their webs across the path. The area is always shady so the webs are difficult to see.

 

Unfortunately for me, the spiders don’t put out warning signs. So…I’m constantly running into webs. A lot of swiping and grumbling ensues as I try to get the sticky web out of my face and hair.

 

Sometimes the webs have a spider. ARRRGH! Then, I’m doing my spider dance–a lot of hopping about, flapping of arms, and squealing as I try to brush the spider off of me.

The most irritating part of the ordeal is that the next day the web is back across the pathway. Even though I’ve destroyed the web by blindly barging through it, that pesky spider builds it back.

Spiders are persistent.

per-sist (a verb) to continue firmly in a state or action is spite of obstacles or objections

Are you persistent?

I asked myself the same question. The best I can respond is–sometimes.

Jesus shared a parable with his disciples to encourage them to pray and not give up (to be persistent):

In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in the town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ‘Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” Luke 18:2-5

The widow didn’t give up–she was persistent. And the result?

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? Luke 18:7

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus shares another story of persistence. A Greek (Gentile) woman sought out Jesus to beg healing for her daughter. Jesus responded in a disparaging manner:

First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

OUCH! In the time of Jesus, Jews often referred to Gentiles as “dogs”, an intentional derogatory term for sure. What brought Jesus to use this terminology with this woman who was fighting for the life of her child?

Jesus was exhausted. He wanted to rest. He wanted some private time. (Have you been there? What do you do in such circumstances? Can we see the humanity of Jesus here?)

In our age of political correctness and emphasis on honoring and respecting all cultures, Jesus shocks us with what amounts to a racial slur. What were his reasons?

Could Jesus be testing the woman’s faith? Would she persist in her goal?

The woman’s faith was rewarded. Jesus healed her daughter.

Is our faith tested at times? (Of course it is). Do we want to give up rather than maintaining persistence in the hard times?

I find myself challenged to persist in my daily Bible study–other tasks in a busy schedule frequently interfere (or do I allow that interruption?)

I pray that I can write for the glory of God, yet often the only moments I can sit in front of my computer are between 11:00 p.m. and midnight–when I’m too tired to write (Why don’t I schedule an earlier time during the day to write?)

But, in spite of my struggles to consistently have my daily quiet time with God, I have found that those moments are what give me the strength to persevere–to persist in my journey with my Lord.

What helps you persist, even in times of trials? Please share a comment to help those of us who struggle to persevere and remain constant in our faith walk.

Our Lord Jesus promised justice for His people, but even He expressed concern for our ability to persist in our faith.

I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8

Praying for you, my friends (and for me), that we can persist in our faith journey.