Perseverance

— For the week of August 24, 2008 —

Great works are performed,
not by strength,
but by perseverance.
— Samuel Johnson

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
— Hebrews 12:1

A basketball coach tells his players on the first day of practice, "Being in good shape is never measured by how tired you become. It's how fast you recover."

Have you ever noticed friends of yours who are just a bit more persistent than you? When the pink slip arrives, when the car won't start, or when the phone call is bad news, they stand fast and firm as if to say, "If the going gets tough, then I'll get going."

It is gratifying to know that the famous Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, wrote five separate drafts of his masterpiece, War and Peace, before it was published. And the American novelist, Ernest Hemingway, rewrote a passage from A Call to Arms fifty-one times before he was content. Often, greatness is measured less by talent than by tenacity.

There's a pastor on the West coast who has this saying on a plaque above the desk in his study: "Hangest Thou in There." It's not only his personal motto, it's what he tells people at the altar, in the hospital, and on their worst days. It's not trite to him. It's scriptural and full of promise.

Is there a situation you're facing that is particularly frustrating? Perhaps this is an area where you can develop perseverance! Ask God for new strength to use the difficulties of life to develop an overcoming spirt.

Taken from The Minister's Little Devotional Book.
Copyright © 1997 by H.B. London Jr. and Stan Toler.
Used by permission of RiverOak Publishing, Tulsa, Okla.
All rights reserved.