Topic: Faithful People Are Persistent People [RICK WARREN Devotional 4 December 2019]

BY RICK WARREN — DECEMBER 4, 2019

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).People of faith simply don’t know how to quit. They never give up. They keep on keeping on. They understand that faith means having persistence.

If you want to be a person of faith, then you have a choice: When you don’t see God’s answer to your prayer right away, you can just wait or you can be persistent. One choice is passive; the other is active. While you wait, you continue working. You don’t give up, even though you don’t see the answer. You keep working at the marriage, you keep working at the job, you keep believing that there’s going to be a breakthrough. You don’t give up!

Noah was an amazing man of faith. God told him to build an ark because there would be a flood. It must have been difficult to bear ridicule for building a boat in the middle of the desert, with no idea how God was going to get water to it. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. That’s a long time to wait! It’s a long time to trust, especially when everyone thinks you’re crazy.

But Noah persevered. He was persistent, and he stayed faithful to the task God had given him.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (NIV).

Don’t give up! Be persistent in your purpose. Become a faithful person so God can use you to do what seems impossible to everyone else.

How does being persistent while you’re waiting on God help you keep the right focus?
What faithful people have modeled persistence for you?
How can you continue growing while you wait to see how God is going to work?