Thursday, April 23, 2009

Building Faith by Persistence

Faith is easy with immediate results. What if success is delayed even after weeks or years of trying? Unmet expectations build doubts that deter our faith. We overcome these unmet expectations through persistence.

Behavior scientists tell the story of the walleye. A walleye placed in a fish tank will swim around the whole tank. If a glass wall is placed in the middle of the tank and food on the other side of the glass wall, the walleye will try to get the food. Of course, it will bump into the glass wall. After two or three attempts to get the food, the walleye will stop. The scientist can remove the glass wall but, sad to say, the walleye will never again try to go to the other side.

A Bible parable tells of a widow who gets what she needs from an evil judge by persistence. It encourages us to knock and the door will be opened. The Greek word we translate as “knock” really means “keep on knocking” or to be persistent.

Are we the walleye or the persistent widow?

May our Creator and Savior grant us persistence to keep going not matter what happened last time.

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