Wile E Coyote’s life goal and passion is to catch the Road Runner and eat him for dinner, unfortunately he never succeeds in doing so. Coyote uses absurdly complex contraptions to pursue his prey, which comically backfire with the coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. He usually ends up burnt to a crisp, squashed flat, or at the bottom of a canyon. Never losing sight of his passion after a failed attempt, Wiley orders another ludicrous device from “The Acme Corporation”, a fictitious mail-order company. No matter how hard he tries, no matter what device he uses, the result is always the same: utter failure. Wile E Coyote is the epitome of PERSISTENCE! He never quits, he never stops trying, and only allows discouragement for a fleeting moment. Persistence can be defined as “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” It is the ability to stick with something regardless of the circumstances. The Bible is full of men and women who were great examples of PERSISTENCE.
Take Daniel for instance, he persisted in his prayer life regardless of the circumstances around him. The men who despised and hated him persuaded the king to pass a law that no one was to petition/pray to any man or god, except to the king, for thirty days. Anyone failing to obey the King’s command would be thrown into a lion’s den. How did Daniel respond? Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel didn’t quit, he kept praying!
The Apostle Paul didn’t quit even though he was beaten often, shipwrecked, robbed, forsaken by his own people, and thrown in prison numerous times. He said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Peter didn’t quit, even though he failed Jesus numerous times. Are you PERSISTENT? What would it take to stop you from serving the Lord? Cancer? The death of a loved one? People talking about you? A failed marriage? Unanswered prayers?
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Prov 24:16).
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).
Don’t ever give up! Don’t ever even think about quitting on God! Don’t quit praying, don’t quit serving, loving, or helping others. Always look up, not around!