Today’s Word Is PERSISTENCE

I believe the best quote about persistence that I ever heard came from legendary baseball player Babe Ruth, who once said, “It’s hard to beat a man who never gives up.”

Trainers, coaches, and developers of athletes can tell you that there is only one way to really find out how much of something you are capable of doing, and that is to do as much as you can, and then do one more. This is an act of the will in which one decides to ignore obstacles and keep going.

Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers pro football team, and many other successful people used this principle. Lombardi once said … “The difference between a successful person and others is not lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

Many people become great successes through persistence. Thomas Edison, inventor of over 1,000 patented items, including the phonograph, electric light, and movie camera, said it this way … “Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Have you seen the movie “Facing the Giants”? The high school football coach wanted to test one of his players on his persistence. He asked the young man if he could crawl on all fours to the 30-yard line? “Yes.” How about if I put this guy on your back, could you still do it? “Yes.” How about to the 50-yard line? “I think I can.”

So, the coach blind-folded him, had the other player sit on his back, and he started crawling. Other players cheered him on. “Keep going.” “You can do it.” “Just a little more to go.” The young man did not realize that he had gone well past the 50-yard line. By the time he got to the 5-yard line, they were telling him, “Just a few yards to go.” And he made it and collapsed. Boy, was he astonished when he removed the blindfold and discovered he went all 100 yards!

England needed to survive World War II, so Prime Minister Winston Churchill said this in a speech of encouragement … “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!”

This principle has a role in the Christian life. The Apostle Paul was pretty persistent. He got beat up and thrown out of town once; they thought he was dead. But he laid there awhile, got up, and went right back into town. (Acts 14:19) He was a man on a mission! Here’s what he said about persistence: “… but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – (Philippians 3:13-14)

There are two advantages that we as Christians have as we practice persistence. One is the purpose we are seeking to achieve. It is a God mission we are on! And the second is that the Power of the Holy Spirit is at work in us. We do not have to rely on our strength alone. Sometimes we accomplish more than we could imagine because we know God puts his power at work in us.

The Apostle Paul once prayed for an infirmity or limitation to be taken away. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2^nd Corinthians 12:8-9b)

Steven Curtis Chapman sang this song, based on that Scripture … “His strength is perfect when our strength is gone. He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on. Raised in His power, the weak become strong. His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.”

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark