The Power Of Persistence
Another way Esther influenced her world was by being persistent. She didn’t give up. She said she was going to do it and she stuck with it, even when plans changed. So what was she Persistent in? She had to add a second banquet because God had a plan to make King Xerxes remember some important details about the man Mordecai who saved King Xerxes’ life. We don’t know why exactly she didn’t spill her guts at the first banquet. There is a lot of speculation BUT for whatever reason we know that God used it for HIS good!!
Other Biblical Examples of Persistence
Moses didn’t think he could go to Pharaoh. He felt he wasn’t able to speak well enough for such a task and yet God equipped Moses to go before Pharaoh 14 times throughout the beginning of the book of Exodus.
How about Ruth- the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi? She along with Orpah and Naomi lost their husbands. When Naomi decided to leave Moab the girls decided to go back to Israel with her. At one point Naomi urges the girls to go back to their families, stating that she had nothing to offer them and really had nothing to offer them. Orpah heeded Naomi’s instructions but Ruth told Naomi That she would not leave her and that her Naomi) people would become her (Ruth) people and that her (Naomi) God would become her(Ruth) God. She had no idea what she was getting into. I’m sure Naomi told her how the Israelites felt about foreigners. And yet THAT was not her concern. She wanted to care for Naomi. She worked so hard in the fields to provide for their little family. And yet God took that persistence and blesses Ruth greatly. So much so that Ruth will be in the line of David and eventually Jesus.
Perhaps the Most Persistent Man in American History
This person lost 8 elections in various state and local positions (he didn’t win one single election),
he had two failed businesses,
Lost numerous loved ones including his wife.
He suffered a nervous breakdown ……..all before we called him PRESIDENT Abraham Lincoln.
I find this story inspiring because by the worlds standards he WAS a failure. BUT he was so persistent that just by being so persistent makes him an inspiration. That He wasn’t willing to give up and throw in the towel. He fought through all of the negative and became a success! And he revolutionized the United States!
Abraham Lincoln like Esther had been persistent, and they were both called “for such a time as this”. Their Persistence paid off!
The Command to be Persistent- To Persevere
Another word for Persistence in the Bible is PERSEVERANCE! To Persevere means to be steadfast in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success!
Hmmm sounds a lot like both Abraham Lincoln AND Esther AND a HUGE amount of people scattered throughout Scripture!!
Check out these verses that relay our need for perseverance in our everyday lives:
Romans 5 :3-4
3 Not only so, but we] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
James 1:2-5
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
I Quit….I Give Up….
The opposite of persistence or perseverance is Quitting.
We quit because bad things happen or because things aren’t working out the way we envision them or in the time frame in which we want to accomplish goals.
Many times Christians will tack on it’s God’s will to quit. The problem starts though when they first say it was God’s will or God has told them to do something and then all of a sudden they say God told them He doesn’t want to do that anymore. If God had called or told us to do something then we really need to be persistent and persevere through all the hard stuff that comes with serving God! If we don’t it leads to a whole lot of troubles.
We are promised in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you WILL have trouble. BUT take heart , I have overcome the world.” AND YES that means in dealing with other believers. At some point we as Christians forget that we as Christians are still human and we let each other down. No one is perfect. GASP NOT EVEN OURSELVES. I’n guessing that you have hurt your fair share of people too. Just as I have. I try my hardest to make things right, this is where grace comes in. At this point this is where I begin to hear echos in my own head saying but you have no idea how much I have been hurt. You have no idea how much people have hurt me and then come all the stories flowing out like bitter flood waters that have been stuffed deep down within their souls. I deal with that same stuff. Because I have been hurt deeply. And then I remember one thing and it puts it into perspective: Jesus died for everyone including those who crucified HIM. Realistically if one person in this world would be justified in holding a grudge it would be Jesus. He was perfect, sinless and He was made the fool and died a humiliating death. The ultimate hurt and betrayal. AND HE FORGAVE THEM AND ME!!! I need to be persistent and persevere despite all the hurt.
Other times it’s a test from God to see just how serious we are to follow where He has called us. He wants us to trust him fo HIS purposes NOT our own. He wants to know that we are dedicated to HIS ways, despite our ideals and preconceived ideas of how things SHOULD go!
And when that happens oftentimes a person with influence in looked as CRAZY.
