Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Revelation 3:10
“Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to transpire. Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered.
The greatest fear a man has is not that he will be damned, but that Jesus Christ will be worsted, that the things He stood for – love and justice and forgiveness and kindness among men – will not win out in the end; the things He stands for look like will-o’-the-wisps. Then comes the call to spiritual tenacity, not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately on the certainty that God is not going to be worsted.
If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience.” Remain spiritually tenacious.”
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 2017) devotional for 22 February.
The only thing I have absolute certainty about is Jesus Christ. I’m thankful my GTP team members concur. The Holy Spirit has reinforced this idea on our retreat in the mountains, and for that I rejoice. As we have reflected on all God has done to get us this far, we find ourselves encouraged and strengthened to abide in Him, and let him continue to guide our work.
We resolve to remain spiritually tenacious. We have discussed that our spiritual lives and physical fitness, our being, must precede our doing. Spiritual tenacity is fueled by our knowing and living according to what is true. So, from the place of abiding, we can tenaciously go forth in His service
What’s this got to do with Christian generosity? If you don’t have an absolute certainty that God will supply your needs, and that you have been blessed to be a blessing, you will not live generously. We can only live a life of love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness, if we have absolutely certain in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help me remain spiritually tenacious. Teach me to abide in You, to learn from You, and live in the absolute certainty of what is true, so that it shapes my doing, that is, my living, giving, serving, and loving. Hear my prayer in your mercy and make it so by your grace, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.