I’ll admit it. I want to give up sometimes.

When nothing seems to improve in my physical body no matter what I try.

When effort and reward are not correlating vocationally.

When my best efforts to find or strengthen friendships don’t produce the results I am hoping for.

When day after day presents the same routine, akin to Groundhog Day (which, for me, began long before quarantine, social distancing and extensive cancellations).

I often start to wonder, Is this it? Is this all there is?

Am I the only one that feels this way? Is it just a matter of circumstance?

Hardly.

This is what it is about the movie Me Before You that makes me so angry. The paralyzed main character gives up when his circumstances get tough, and Hollywood paints his decision as heroic. “Exercising his right to choose,” so to speak. The point is clear: if you’re not happy with how your life is unfolding, the best decision is to choose an easy way out.

I think deep down we know that a better solution must exist.

Reading about successful businesses and entrepreneurs has given me an insightful reminder into the fact that perseverance is crucial for success in every area of life.

Uber and Airbnb burst onto the scene a decade ago, permanently disrupting industries that were muddled with heavy bureaucracy, outdated laws, and showed scant concern for customers. In The Upstarts, Brad Stone details the early years of such companies, the obstacles they faced, and the pivotal decisions that shaped their future. In looking at these founders, along with many others who started world changing companies, there is one attribute that far exceeds talent, opportunity, and sheer luck: Persistence.

In the book, venture capitalist Mike Maples Jr explained his investment philosophy: “You want to back entrepreneurs who, even when the chips are down, when things aren’t working, and everyone says this isn’t meant to be, have so much love for the idea and so much passion that they just persevere.”

The exact same could be said for our lives.

In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says, “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for 22 minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after 30 seconds.”

What does all of this have to do with us?

Right now, the world is desperate for hope. We are seeing idols being exposed left and right. Job security. Retirement accounts. Travel. Independence. Freedom.

So what are we to do about this?

Stay engaged. Keep moving forward. Never give up.

Jesus spoke at length about the power of persistence, teaching his disciples to pray and not give up.
He tells the story of a judge, who not only rejected God, but was indifferent to the needs and interests of his people. A widow in his town comes to him, begging for her case to be considered.

He refuses her request for a while, but she continues persisting. His response is telling: “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice.”

She kept her vision of justice in mind, refusing to take no for an answer, which after some difficulty, culminates in her receiving what she sought. This makes Jesus’s observation at the end of the passage all the more powerful: “When I return, will I find faith on the earth?”

Persistence is equated with faith.

When the pressure builds in moments of frustration or difficulty, it is tempting to simply check out, turn off my brain, or even just stare up at the sky, resigned to just sit idly waiting for Jesus to return. However, this is the antithesis to perseverance and more in line with just trying to escape my circumstances.

I don’t want to do that.

Instead I want to keep the faith. I want to be proactive. I want to be resilient. And even when the times are the toughest, I want to be about taking meaningful action. In so doing, I’m demonstrating that I actually do have faith that the story is not over yet.

In his letter to the people of Galatia, Paul reiterates this call to keep pressing forward: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

We can reap a harvest simply by not giving up. What does this look like practically when locked down and isolated?

Focusing on what we can actually control. Learning something new. Ensuring that the people under our same roof are not the recipients of our frustrations (definitely an area where I can improve).

The world is desperate for hope. When we emerge from our homes to tell the tale of this extended quarantine, will we be able to say that we remained faithful? That we persisted with intentionality even when times were confusing or difficult?

Whether our routines remain out of whack for only a few days or a few months, let’s not give up. Years from now we will have the potential to look back at this as one of the most fruitful seasons of our lives.

Persistence. Doggedness. Perseverance.

No matter the circumstances.

Let’s not let the opportunity pass us by.

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