Think and Grow WiseSample

As you begin to Think and Grow Wise, #6 is persistence.

Another favorite film of mine is The Martian. I know it’s fiction, but it feels so real.

I absolutely cannot think of the word persistence without thinking of what Mark Watney went through on Mars.

In the film The Martian, Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, who is presumed dead on Mars after a fierce storm. Mark is forced to become extremely creative and persistent in his efforts to find and create food, water, and shelter.

His persistence to source everything he needed from basically nothing is an incredible lesson of willpower, faith, hope, and persistence in the midst of what some would say, is impossible.

Whenever I watch this film, I’m reminded of Proverbs 24:16, “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”

What about you?

What type of person are you when trouble arises?

When you hear the word impossible, what do you do?

What is your level of persistence?

Let’s look quickly at a remarkable example that Jesus gives of persistence in Luke 18:1-8.

'Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and had no respect for man.

There was a [desperate] widow in that city and she kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice and legal protection from my adversary.’

For a time he would not; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and legal protection; otherwise by continually coming she [will be an intolerable annoyance and she] will wear me out.’ ”

Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says! And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf?

I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?” '

In the book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill defines persistence as “the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people.”

As you Think and Grow Wise, what is persistence teaching you about you?

As you reflect upon the story of the widow in Luke 18, what do you need to become more persistent about?

What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you right now?

In the area of prayer, what can you do to become more persistent?

What roadblocks need to be removed right now?

When will you begin this new level of persistence?

Who will hold you accountable for this new level of persistence?

Tomorrow is a big day as I dig into fear.

You do not want to skip it. You are becoming wiser. I know you know it. It’s time to eliminate all fear, doing what you were created to do.

Let me know what resonated with you the most on Instagram.

I’m rooting for you.

I am praying with you.

Coach Anthony Thompson