The Beauty of Persistence
Read Time: 2 min
In the late 1800s, engineer Washington Roebling and his father set out to build a bridge from New York to Long Island. This was highly criticized as “impossible.” After a construction accident paralyzed Washington and killed his father, the project was stopped, but Washington never gave up. Although he could only move one finger, he worked out a way to communicate instructions to his wife; she translated these for engineers who again started working on the bridge. After 13 years, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed. Human persistence is a noble quality.
Consider Henry Ford, who went broke five times before he founded the Ford Motor Company. Thomas Edison’s teachers called him “too stupid to learn anything,” and he was fired from his first two jobs. Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected by 27 different publishers. Beethoven’s music teachers thought he was hopeless as a musician and composer.
Before becoming prime minister at age 62, Winston Churchill was defeated in every election. Abraham Lincoln was demoted during his military service, was not very successful at business, and lost many runs for public office. But these people all persisted and eventually achieved success.
As motivating as human persistence can be, however, God’s persistence is greater and more inspiring. Because of the persistence of His love for us, He will complete the good work that He has begun in us. He will not give up on us. As long as we seek His help with an honest heart, He will never turn us away.
Key Bible Texts
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. (Philippians 1:3-7 KJV)