And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9, N.K.J.V.)

At 10:30 one night, a little girl called out from her bed, “Mommy, will you bring me a drink of water?” Her mother dutifully obliged. One hour later, the girl called out again, “Mommy, will you bring me a drink of water?” The mother obliged again, but this time she added in, “Now don’t ask me again tonight.”

Despite that warning, thirty minutes later the little girl called out again, “Mommy, will you bring me a drink of water?” The mother thought, “She must really need a drink because she wouldn’t ask needlessly after what I told her the last time.” So, the mother delivered another cup of water. But this time her warning was more serious and final: “If you bother me about this again tonight I’m going to spank you.” Fifteen minutes later, the little girl spoke up again. She said, “Mommy, when you get up to spank me, will you bring me a drink of water?”

Webster’s defines persistent as: “stubbornly continuing in one’s course in spite of opposing influences.” The World War II generation, the so-called “greatest generation,” knew a ton about being persistent, but I fear that with each generation since we’ve lost more and more of the concept. Maybe fast-food restaurants and microwaves ruined us. Instant gratification is what we’re into now.

The fact is, though, that some things in life will always call for persistence. I’m talking about things such as keeping a marriage together, holding down a job, raising a child, and paying off a mortgage. If you are going to accomplish these assignments, you’re going to have to (as Webster’s put it) stubbornly continue in your course of action in spite of opposing influences.

I write this as a word of encouragement to any reader who is just about to quit on something he or she shouldn’t be quitting. You say, “But you don’t know the problems that I am having!” No, I don’t, but those problems don’t necessarily mean that God wants you to you throw in the towel on what you are doing. Listen, old-fashioned stubbornness doesn’t have to be a bad thing. To the contrary, when you use it to stick to a God-approved task, it becomes a valuable resource to either keep you where God wants you to be or get you to where He wants you to go.