‘Persevere so that when you have done the will of Yehovah, you will receive what He has promised’ Hebrews 10:36 (NIV)
Charles Spurgeon once said, ‘by perseverance the snail reached the ark’. Imagine the poor snail, overtaken by deer, cheetahs and horses, as they all rushed to the ark to avoid the Biblical flood. But with endurance and patience, the snail kept going until it reached the safety of the ark. In life, often the only difference between success and failure is perseverance. There is something about perseverance that makes people unquenchable and unstoppable, which therefore helps them to live significant lives. Calvin Coolidge once wrote, ‘nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.’ Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Even Yeshua had to press on and persevere, through periods of submission, opposition, rejection, attack, physical pain, and ultimately, death. This brought forgiveness, hope and life, to the entire world. In the same way, anyone who achieved anything of note throughout history had persevered to get there. To do anything worthwhile, you must not only start well, but continue – through trial, setback, pressure, conflict and even failure – to keep going until success. When you decide not to quit, you set yourself up to succeed, because often, success comes to those who simply kept going when everyone else stopped. If you keep adjusting, keep healing, keep forgiving, you will find a way to win. What areas in your life do you need to persevere in? Because if you keep pressing on, and keep walking in His will, then Yehovah’s purposes can be fulfilled in your life!