June 19th
Stick To It
An assignment. Right now. Are you game? Ready? I want you to really do what I suggest. (I have actually just tried it.) I want you to try prouncing the word P - E - R - S - I - S - T - E - N - C -Y with your teeth gritted - every muscle tense, every nerve strained, standing (or sitting) stiffly upright, and with your head erect. Also pull the lips back into your face. Try it again.
Not easy is it? In some positions of your lips the word just does not come out correctly. When I did that I gained a new respect for that word. There is power in that word.
At times it is not easy to be persistent. Life throws us a curve and we tend to go with it - go with the flow, instead of fighting and holding our own. It is obvious that in paddling a canoe upstream one has to "keep at it". If they cease they will be pushed backward, right?
When I got the mail today there was a return letter which was addressed to the Darrin Carlson family with the words, "Returned for postage". My wife had mailed it with several others and she KNOWS she put stamps on all 4 of the letters containing pictures. So what happened?
Could it be that the stamp said, "I've had it I am not going to STICK TO IT." Now, it was meant to stick. It was made to fulfil a special function. Failing to do so has caused difficulty.
My friend, when you are given a task to do, or some one insists that you do something special, then 2 choices are yours. l. You can do it. 2. You can say, "I can't do it" (or won't). If you will accept the duty put on you (even if it seems or is, in fact, unfair) you are spelling "persistency" with your life. So, take hold of your situation, problem, difficulty or trial with the Lord's faithful "glue presence" and stick and your letter - Paul calls you a "living letter read by all men" will be delivered with success.
My prayer for you, my friend
Lord, when life gets hard, may this one stick close to the source of their strength. May they in all the tasks that are given them grasp them firmly and find and fill their place. Help them not to give up - but to hold on (to you).
Amen