Staying power (3)

“I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.”

Jdg 11:35

Staying power overcomes family opposition. When Jephthah’s family disowned him and threw him out of the house, he built an army that delivered Israel from the hands of their enemies. As a result, he ended up becoming the nation’s youngest judge. When faced with the challenge to “fold up or hold up,” David Livingstone demonstrated staying power. His wife, Mary, gave him so much trouble, always complaining and criticizing, that she made his life’s work almost impossible. The tension between them became so great that Livingstone sent her home to England for a period of more than twelve years while he suffered, bled, and ultimately died in Africa for the cause of Christ. When Jesus went home to Nazareth to minister to the people He grew up around, some of them tried to throw Him off a cliff. And in spite of His teachings and miracles, His family thought He was mad. Did that hurt Him? Of course. But He didn’t let it stop Him. He said: “Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise, he cannot be my disciple. And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me…don’t begin until you [first] count the cost” (Lk 14:26-28 TLB). When your family opposes you, love them and pray for them because God can change their hearts. And until He does, keep serving Him.

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