Do You give up? Or Do you persist?

Do You give up?  Or Do you persist?

by David Brenneman 

‭"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me." Micah 7:7.

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:5-8.

‬“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:7‭-‬8

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much." James 5:16.

Persistence is something that Jesus spoke of to His Disciples..."But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:21.

Do we give up so easily?  Are we at all learning persistence?  We are indeed to be persistent...that's the lesson of the point in James 5:16.  Persistent in what it is that the Spirit has put on your heart is worth fighting for on your knees. 

We are often a people who like to split hairs in order to gain an advantage.  Rewording contracts, obligations, and conversations in order to not be at the apparent wrong end of the stick.  

Our specific call of the Spirit of God for our lives is going to be fraught with dangers.  Let's get that out of the way right now.   Jesus said that all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer.  Persecutions will arise, but so does the power of Christ to combat it.  

Soldiers who graduate boot camp are operating at a wholly different level than the green recruits coming in.  The difference is persistence.  Being taught what is necessary for the battles to come in order to survive and move forward. 

His workmanship can be truly seen as His training...in righteousness.  His schedule for your boot camp training is going to begin at one level and will progress to more complex endeavors.  We read this in the conversations we read in the New Testament about eating.  People still on soft foods vs those in the faith eating hearty meats Spiritually.  

If indeed we're serious about living a life submitted to Jesus, we're going to need persistence.  We're going to need to keep finding the strength to keep getting back up again and moving forward. Taking the hits and keep moving forward.  Persistence. 

We must couple that with the belief that He's there with us and has our best in mind for us.  That His specific will for us will come about much easier through our obedience rather than our fighting the progress that He's trying to achieve in us.

We may not understand the why's...Job didn't.  Daniel only partially did. Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel...take your pick...they never really understood a lot but obeyed anyway.  

When we cross paths with others it's by no means a coincidence.  They, just like us, were born in this here this now for the express purpose of being the most desired conditions for the seeds of salvation to take firm root in them.  

It's not at all about prosperity or anything else.  It's not about recognition.  The only truly worthwhile recognition is to come to the Believer from Jesus on the day we give an account of our lives before Him. 

Prayer must never be wishy-washy. Prayer must not be haphazard. Must not be anything less than our best efforts.  Just like our Bible reading.  That too must be our best efforts.  It's on the final exam.  Those are things that we will give an account about.  

Take time today to determine your persistence level.  Find out from the Spirit if you're being seen as giving your all. 

There's a significant difference between a no from God and a person who gives up too easily. 

We don't like to think about the depths of the dirty deeds of Satan in this world.  Persistence in prayer is as valuable to the Believer as a rifle is to a soldier.   

Demons are very active around everyone.  Satan can only be in one place at one time.  Our sin nature does more to derail us than demons.  Demon possessed people are around us. 2,000 plus years ago those people could recognize that.  We don't much today because it's not being taught.  

Jesus is coming back some day...will you shrink back from His appearing because of how lazy you were in the faith or will you run to Him?  

You can change that outcome today...with persistence. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.