Patterns for Persistence

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4 ESV

The answer to all my worry and fear is found here in this verse: seek the Lord. Seek Him diligently, persistently and consistently.

I think that sometimes I ask for God to help me through a situation, but then don’t wait for the answer. If I don’t hear right away, I do what seems best in the moment. This might bring temporary relief, but almost never really solves the issue that I asked Him about. I’m not really seeking Him diligently or persistently.

Reflecting on those times when I’ve done this, I can see a pattern. It’s the opposite of what you might think.

I’ll have a very busy period, with a full of meetings and projects to get done. I know people who struggle with consistently spending time in their Bibles because of how busy they are. But I’ve learned from experience that I must protect my quiet times with the Lord. I need to be sure my spirit gets refilled by sitting with Him and His word every day if I want to get through the crazy busyness of those periods.

Then I’ll have a few weeks with not much on the calendar or my to-do list. There’s nothing that urgently needs doing in the moment. So, I relax a little and my routine gets disrupted. These are the times when I can allow distractions to take me away from consistency in my quiet times. Often when I don’t have much to do, I end up doing nothing.

A little break from all the craziness of life isn’t a bad thing in itself. We all need to learn to rest better. But rest can turn into a rut, a habit of laziness, if I let it. And that’s when discouragement can take hold of my heart.

One thing that helps me be consistent and persistent is putting my quiet times on my calendar, giving some structure to every day. Another help is journaling, taking the time to write down thoughts and prayers inspired by what I read in Scripture. This slows me down and reminds me to invite God into the conversation, asking the Spirit to highlight something for me. Journaling also helps me to remember those lessons better throughout the day.

Think About:

• What hinders you from persistently and consistently seeking the Lord?

• What helps you to persistently and consistently seek Him?