Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… – Ecclesiastes 9:10(a), Amplified Bible

Recently our church was visited by a missionary to Canada. His entire testimony was fascinating, but there was one part of his testimony that affected me deeply.

The missionary stated that when he, his wife, and their two small children first settled in Canada, they proceeded to distribute approximately 14,000 invitations to a Bible meeting designed to attract enough people to begin a church. After 14,000 knocks on doors, these dear missionaries had a whopping three people show up! After the meeting, they did begin holding church services. The attendees for the first day of church consisted of the missionary, his wife, their two small children, and nobody else! Needless to say, they were disappointed, but they kept at it. Seventeen years later, they shepherd a thriving church of 60+ members and are in desperate need of a larger building.

If that missionary had been like most people, he and his family would not have persisted in their work. Thankfully, he had the steely resolve to rest on the admonition of Ecclesiastes 9:10(a), knowing that the both the work and the results were the Lord’s.

Too often we get beaten down by disappointment. Too often, we choose the path of least resistance, giving up in the face of adversity rather than persisting with all our might. Of course, the Bible is clear that we can accomplish nothing for Christ apart from Christ’s enabling (Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.). But when we fail to pursue with all of our might the work He has given us, we choke His enabling before it can breathe life into the work. Just as the decision to be saved is ours but the work of salvation is Christ’s, the decision to persist in the work He has given us is ours. The ability to persist comes from Christ.

So, what have you decided to do today? Give up, or persist?