Persistence Pays Off

Well now, friend, you’ve shown up like a lantern glowin’ in the dark woods remindin’ us that God’s light always finds a way to guide us home. So, come on up here on this ol’ front porch that’s hummin’ like a beehive sittin’ plum too close to a curious lil’ ol’ raccoon. I was just watchin’ an ol’ squirrel that kept knockin’ on the same tree trunk like it expected the bark to open up and hand it a real good snack. It sho’-‘nuff reminded me of how Jesus tells us to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” And Galatians 6:9 adds, “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Those two verses fit together like a pair of overalls that finally found the right farmer to be wearin’ ‘em.

Have you ever given up too soon? Jesus wasn’t talkin’ about a one-time prayer or a single knock that sounds plum like you’re afraid to wake the neighbors. The original language means keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. It’s real steady, stubborn, holy persistence.

God will show you His will if you keep on keeping on. But, friend, fear is what usually stops us. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what God might actually say. It’s the same kind of fear that keeps folks from learnin’ to swim because they never get in the water or from ridin’ a horse because they never put a foot in the stirrup. You can’t be learnin’ if you never try.

Some folks want a date but never ask. Some want a new opportunity but never knock. Some want God’s direction but quit after one prayer that felt like it just bounced off the ceiling. You might have a few crash and burn moments. Everybody does. But if you want to know God’s will, you must engage. You gotta try to do it. You must keep going. Persistence is the doorway to clarity.

Father, give me courage to keep asking when I feel real discouraged. Help me keep seekin’ when I feel plum lost. Teach me to keep on knockin’ until Your timin’ opens the right door. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Well now, friend, as this porch gits to settlin’ under the weight of the evenin’ air like a tired ol’ mule leanin’ against a fence post, let this truth settle deep down in your spirit. God rewards the one that keeps on showin’ up. He strengthens the one that plum refuses to quit. He guides the one that keeps right on knockin’ even when the hallway feels way too long. And He blesses the one that keeps right on seeking until the answer finally comes shinin’ through. Keep on keeping on. Your breakthrough may be only one knock away.

With joy,

Gwen