'Passion, Persistence and Perseverance' - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

 

Passion, Persistence and Perseverance

by Steve Martin

 “I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.” (Revelations 2:19 THE MESSAGE)

(Note: I wrote this in Feb. 2014. Looking back it was our last Christmas with Laurie's Mom Lorraine Unzicker, who went to be with the Lord Jesus on July 31, 2014 at age 92. We are grateful we had this special time with her, until we see her again!)

Ben Martin, Lorraine Unzicker and Laurie Martin - Christmas 2013 in Peru, IL

“If the passion isn’t strong enough, the perseverance won’t last enough.”

That thought came as I was meditating on…or rather silently fretting about…the 14 hour drive ahead of us. Heading out on the long road ahead, in the middle of winter, through the Carolina mountains, to the plains of the Midwest, wasn’t what I wanted to be doing these next short days. But that’s where Laurie, my son Ben and I were headed.

We were spending Christmas with the family in Illinois, after not getting up there for the past five years, for this special holiday. I was keeping my word made to Laurie the previous spring, when the daffodils were blooming, the robins were singing, and life all around was fresh and abounding.

No longer did I desire to get out on the open road, as I did years ago, and drive 12-14 hours straight. It just didn’t appeal to me anymore, and I was dreading the long two days behind the Hyundai Elantra wheel. Not only that, but leaving on a Saturday, driving for two days, and having to start the return back on Christmas Day afternoon, to be in the office for one day, Friday, because my boss wanted me back for an upcoming event…

Well, I just wasn’t rejoicing and singing songs of merry.

“If the passion isn’t strong enough, the perseverance won’t last enough.”

When what I knew was the Holy Spirit speaking this word right about then to me, my attitude began to change. It was important to keep my word. It was indeed going to be special to be with Laurie’s mom Lorraine Unzicker, now 92, and her two sisters (Linda and Judy) and their families. That was what my heart and head were to focus on right now. Not the physical cost of getting there.

When faced with a situation that you know will take some stamina and persistence, we need to dig deep into our soul and count on the Lord to give grace and provision for the task ahead. Often we are given the choice to take the easy road, stay in our comfy chair wasting time in front of the TV, or move forward with what we know will count for eternity, by doing that which we are called to do. A simple choice, at least it should be. Too many times we take the easy path, which will be easier on our flesh.

The Apostle Paul had a mighty mission he had been apprehended for. The passion burning in his heart kept him going when it would have been easy to stop, count the harvest already accredited to his account, and call it done. But he didn’t.

“I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.

And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. 

When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.” (2 Cor. 11:24-29 THE MESSAGE)

In no way am I comparing a 14 hour drive to what the apostle Paul had to endure to fulfill his calling at times. We want to think so, though.

In your ongoing walk with the Lord Jesus, consider that price which He paid for us. Receive encouragement from Him, from the other examples given to us throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. Read about the martyrs who have gone before us through the centuries, giving their lives for the eternal passion instilled within them. Then we can find that which is necessary to continue pressing on to the mark, to win the prize, to reach the final destination.

The reward will be great.

Now think on this.

Steve Martin

Founder

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Ahava Love Letter #121   “Passion and Perseverance”   Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (02.20.14) Thursday at 5:00 am in Charlotte, NC).

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