Pause

Staying after it. Not giving up. Being stubborn.

Persistence. It's hard to say just where this characteristic comes from, but in the life of faith we can say that, when we do not give up on matters of righteousness, persistence has its source in God.

That is because there is none so persistent, so faithful as this One we follow. Make it your intent, just in these next few moments, to be focused on listening for God.

Listen

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Think

Talking about my dad can be hard. My dad was never like the television dads that I would see on shows like The Brady Brunch. My dad promised me a lot of things, things that usually never happened. Christmas presents never opened. Birthday cards sent but never received.

One thing that relationship has made me aware of is that the promises or covenants of God the Father are not like the promises of human beings. Humans can break their promises for any reason or for no reason. Yet God always keeps promises.

We don’t always understand how those promises are fulfilled. We expect one thing but receive another. The world is still shocked that God fulfilled a promise by giving us Jesus to live, die, and somehow be resurrected. It doesn’t make sense to us. But God still delivered. God is persistent in delivering on promises and we have to be persistent in our faith that God will do as God promises.

Patrick Kangrga

Pray

God, many people in my life have failed to deliver on their promises, but you have never failed. You have always delivered. Help me have faith that even in the midst of all the broken promises of my life, your promise of love and life is never forsaken. Help me to have faith, to always believe and know that you will deliver on the promises you make. Amen.

Go

Offer praise to God our Savior because of our Lord Jesus Christ! Only God can keep you from falling and make you pure and joyful in his glorious presence. Before time began and now and forevermore, God is worthy of glory, honor, power, and authority. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25 (The Contemporary English Version)