Persistence that Pleases God!

Persistence Always Pays!

What a nuisance I’ve dealt with these past few weeks. Oh sure, they’re cute and furry and playful from a distance — but when they’re stealing my bird seed like a thief in the night, they’re a naughty nuisance! I’m talking about that ground-dwelling squirrel who loves to invade my bird feeder… every night! By morning it is totally cleaned out; not one morsel of food left. Well, initially I didn’t know who the culprit was, but one sensational sunny day here in Central Florida I caught him in the act.

Sammy, (that’s what we call him!) thinks he’s a social butterfly. He loves to hang out with our colorful cardinals and high pitched song birds. But after noticing that he doesn’t play fair, (no, he doesn’t share that expensive and specially formulated food we buy for our feathered friends), it was time to chase him away. What a difficult task for such a little critter. That’s when we realized the amazing persistence of this pesky, pilfering, pint-sized creature. If we chased him a half dozen times, he would return seven! Certainly, he was not intimidated by us humans. Sammy was smart and always had a trick up his shiny, gray-skinned sleeve.

Failing miserably at how to outsmart him, and choosing not to purchase a squirrel-proof feeder or repellent, we decided to allow him a place at the buffet bird bar. He doesn’t get the ‘good stuff’ though. Nope, it’s cheap cracked corn for this crazy critter. We’ve even grown quite fond of Sammy’s acrobatic antics. Anyone who is persistent enough to hang upside down for upwards of 20 minutes in order to get what he wants, deserves the prize!

Watching Sammy daily has given me a fresh revelation about the value of biblical persistence in my own life. Many people give up simply because a prayer request was repeated several times with no visible answer. We cannot allow ourselves to become discouraged merely because our first or second request was denied. Be as persistent as Sammy!

God does not always promise to give blessings immediately. There are many reasons we experience divine delay. Sometimes we are not ready to receive a blessing when we first ask. God may be dealing with our pride, our lack of dependence upon Him, or perhaps the timing is wrong. But, if what we ask for is good and in accordance with God’s Will, we will receive our answer at the best possible time. Frequently, when I’m speaking to congregations, I remind them of this truth: God is always right on time — even when we think He is catastrophically late! Persistence always pays.