Being Persistent Takes Persistence

Here’s another day of coming out from under my “mighty woman of God” rock and I'm going to boast about some of my weaknesses. I’m following St. Paul’s lead with his powerful words of advice. He said: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Sometimes I don’t want to answer my phone, so I let the call go to my voice mail. And, sometimes, I don’t feel like doing the unselfish thing. I want to just sit in my cozy chair and take a power nap, or watch TV. I don’t want to do one more thing today. I don’t want to respond to someone asking for advice. But just because I don’t feel like it, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.

This might really shock you. Sometimes I don’t feel like praying or reading my Bible or going to my Bible Study group. But I do it. I’ve found that if the only time I pray or read my Bible is when I feel like it, Satan makes sure I never feel like it. I’ve been in this “mature” relationship with God long enough that I know I must live my life by my commitments, not by my feelings.

The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people don’t feel like doing. They develop habits. They stay committed. They don’t get to the Olympics because they feel like it. They get to the Olympics by hours and hours of training that they didn’t feel like doing. In the same way, we don’t become godly men or women by simply doing what we feel like doing. Godly men and women choose to develop the habits that produce godliness in their lives. It’s not any easier than working out or rehearsing or anything else that may be good for us but we don’t feel like doing.

Probably the greatest example in the Bible of persistence is Moses. For 40 years, he led whining, complaining, immature people around the desert while they questioned his leadership the entire time. Yet he never gave up. Hebrews 11:27 says, “It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back..” Moses saw the invisible God. He kept his eyes on God. So, rather than retreating – we carry on and we keep our eyes on God, too! We continue our persistence to win the battle by being God’s devoted, persistent followers and by doing the uncomfortable. Hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will make it worth it all.

Even Mistakes Can Become Blessings

My word for today is MISTAKE: error, slip-up, blunder, miscalculation, misunderstanding, oversight, misinterpretation, gaffe, faux pas. Goodness gracious, I didn’t realize that a mistake had so many synonyms. Now I can see how easy it is to feel so guilty from making a simple MISTAKE.

My cousin (who lives just a few blocks from me) and I had a girls’ day out in early November when we went to the Junior League of Collin County’s fundraiser, Holiday Gift Market. It sure put us in the Christmas spirit. They always have yummy food samples, and unique one-of-a-kind items from artisans selling their wares. We bought a few nominally priced items, but I kept going back to a booth that had beautiful wood crafted items with “BLESSED” on them. I couldn’t help myself, even though the item I wanted was pricier than I had planned or needed to have expensed.

That night, I had buyer’s remorse. I was going to gift it, but then I couldn't picture it in any of the homes that I had potentially purchased it for. As silly as it was, I lost sleep over my “impulse” purchase. I put it away under a bed because I didn’t want to think about it. I just had to admit my MISTAKE and do my best to get over it. I even asked God to forgive me for being so impulsive. I never gifted it. I took down my Christmas decor and I thought, "maybe that wood décor would look good on my mantle." And, to my joy and delight, it seemed to have been designed to go under my desert painting that reminded me of Israel. The cactus in the wood flowed right into the picture.

That’s when I could almost hear God saying “Merry Christmas, Donna!” I realized Romans 8:28 “ALL things work together for good (even MISTAKES) to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” I fretted over something so minor, yet God was so intentional in teaching me another life lesson.

It’s so easy to fixate on yesterdays and yester-years and the guilts associated with mistakes we may have made. MISTAKES can be as little as an “oopsie” or as big as a devastating catastrophe that alters the course of our lives. No matter what kind of MISTAKE we make, there is always a solution for restitution. It comes in the form of grace. God’s grace that heals and restores, and He exchanges our tarnished slate, for a fresh, clean slate so we can begin again. Oftentimes, our mistakes and failures are gifts, gems, and guideposts, so we should embrace mistakes, failures, screw ups and shortcomings because they not only make us uniquely who we are, but also teach us powerful lessons.

As God's repentant kids, the good news about making MISTAKES, is our mistakes are forgivable. God's amazing grace can turn any MISTAKE into something good. Again, Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes." Most importantly, it reminds me that my God is bigger than my faults and weaknesses and He can turn anything around for His glory!