Persist Until It Is Done

By William R. Cunningham
December 31, 2006

Introduction

About a year ago I was in a physical therapy program due to a leg injury that I sustained.  I noticed that at the beginning of the year that the place became much more crowded than what I was used to seeing.  I mentioned this to one of the staff and was told that it is like that every year because of the new year’s resolutions, but that it would return to normal in a couple of weeks.  To my amazement within about two or three weeks the new faces were gone.

People had set goals to lose weight or to get in better shape through exercise, but the pursuit of that only lasted for a couple of weeks.  What happened?  Why was it that within a mere two to three weeks that people seemed to have abandoned their dedication towards better health through exercise?  I began working out regularly at the same place that I had the physical therapy because they had a gym membership.  I decided to continue my workouts because I wanted to get into better shape and my wife and I had already began changing what we eat.

My dedication remains even after one year of gym membership.  There were times when I didn’t feel like going to the gym after work.  I tried going on Saturday mornings, but typically I just didn’t feel like getting up early to go.  However, I stayed with it and it has helped me tremendously in regards to my physical health.

What things have you dedicated yourself to do, but have abandoned it after a short time?  What are the goals that you have that are still mere wishes because you have not continued in your pursuit to accomplish those goals?  What have you given up on because the pursuit of it proved to be more difficult than you though that it would be or because things changed and you really don’t feel like it any more?

Now there are going to be times when you have truly decided that you don’t want to pursue something that you originally dedicated yourself to because of a genuine lack of interest through discovery or things have changed and you need to reassess your goals.  However, there are still those things that you give up on because it is too hard or because you simply do not have the willpower to change.  In the latter case we simply need to persist until it is done.  We need to continue on the path to complete the goal until the destination is reached

We are going to talk about this in this sermon.  I would like to discuss the importance of sticking with something until it is complete—until you have reached the goal you set for yourself.  I would also like to discuss briefly some goals that we take for granted and truly do not spend time pursuing to complete.

The Important Things

I have found that a human being is driven by those things that he or she deems important.  Consider something that Jesus said about this type of thing.

Matthew 6:21 (NKJV) -- {21} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What are those things that you consider important or have the highest priorities in your life.  Note this says nothing about what is good or bad for you physically, mentally, or spiritually.  Sometimes the things that we consider important or dear to us are the very things that keep us from progressing as we probably could have without them.

One person may reckon that his or her money is the most important thing in their life and will do almost anything to protect it.  Someone else may for example consider sexual satisfaction to be a primary need and therefore pursue all kinds of way to obtain it.  Others consider various forms of drugs to be the most important thing to them and will spend thousands of dollars to obtain these drugs.  The bottom line is that we pursue those things that are important to us.

Someone who discovers that promotions on his job are not possible without at least a bachelors degree may make it a priority to get some kind of degree for the purpose of advancing on their job.  He will sacrifice long hours at night for several years to accomplish the degree requirements for job promotions. 

We have many such goals in our lives, that is, those goals that were imposed on us or are associated with a particular endeavor such as employment or social status.  However, there are many other important things that we take for granted in our lives and these areas of our lives do not progress as they should.

Overlooked Goals

It is interesting to me that people would spend hours researching automobiles in order to ensure that they get the best car that their money could buy.  People will spend hours determining the best airline deals or hotel rates in order to save money for a vacation or business trip.  We will rearrange our schedule so that we can see “the game” on television tonight.

What if?

What if our marriages were as important as getting the best hotel rates for vacation?  What if our relationship with God was as important as the sports season?  What if time with our children and friends was as important as getting a promotion on our jobs?  What if our own wholeness was as important as getting that great contract?

There are many things in our lives that should be goals, but are neglected and allowed to run a natural course.  Consider something that Jesus said.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) -- {33} But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Jesus said that our priority should be seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  However, is that something we actively do?  Do we actually ponder over seeking righteousness and what it means or what it would “look” like?  Do we actively get involved in pursuing God and his kingdom or are these a side note in our lives?

A car remains in good shape and reliability because the owner puts time into taking car of it.  She makes sure that the oil is changed regularly and that the car receives the regularly scheduled maintenance.  She does all she can to keep the car in tip-top condition so that it is ready when she needs it.  Of course that car may malfunction in one area or another.  She may get a flat tire, hit a pothole and damage something, but those are normal.

What about a marriage?  I like to use marriage since the Bible uses it to describe Jesus’ relationship with the church and since I’ve spent so much time researching it.  How much time do married couples spend time pursuing a good marriage…a great marriage?  How much time goes into research, study, discussions with the spouse, talking to other married couples about marriage, and so forth?  Marriage relationships are one of those things that are highly neglected and it is no wonder that the divorce rate is over 50% in the United States.

Marriage, like many other truly important things to us, is overlooked, but is it?  Again let’s look at marriage.  During courting the man and the woman tend to put their best foot forward.  They tend put a lot of time into their overall appearance and behavior.  However, something tends to happen after they say, “I will” at the wedding vows.  To many married couples the goal has been reached so many things tend to relax.  Time spent to look your best is abandoned.  The best behavior is abandoned.  The real you, so to speak, come out and disillusionment sets in.

You see to many married couples the goal was marriage, i.e., the marriage ceremony.  Many married couples don’t think past that so they are at a lost of what to do after the marriage ceremony has come and gone.  Marriage maintenance does not take place and the marriage relationship correspondingly begins a journey of deterioration.  The goal of a good marriage was never set and the two just assumes that things will work out and they will live happily ever after.  They gave no thought to how to maintain a good relationship and what to do to ensure that the relationship gets better and better each year.

We do the same thing in many areas of our lives.  The things that are important to us are the things that we neglect the most.  For example, using marriage again, it is noted that many times that we treat a stranger much more politely and with much more respect than we do our own spouse.  If the marriage, our relationship with God, our household, and our wholeness were indeed important to us then we would do all that we can to protect and nurture them.

Persisting To Accomplish Your Goals

Anything that we want to accomplish requires work and there is no way around that.  Reaching your goals will require an effort on your part.  In the mean time we simply need to persist and do all we can to ensure that we remain on the path to accomplishing our goals.  Consider what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:7-14.

{7} But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. {8} Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ {9} and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; {10} that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, {11} if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul counts anything not having to do with his primary objective as loss.  Paul was a Pharisee and well educated.  He was a prominent figure in the Jewish religion, but he gave all of that up to minister for the Lord Jesus Christ.  He counted loss all that he had gained.  We can truly see how important preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ was to Paul.

We need to have a similar dedication for the things that are important to us.  The ministry was important to Paul because it was given to him by God and Paul was zealous for God even though his zeal was misplaced before his conversion.  Do we have that kind of zeal for the things that are important to us?  Do we count things as being loss that are not conducive to a good marriage, good relationship with the father, good family relationships, etc.?  How dedicated are you to those goals that are truly significant and important to you.

Here is an illustration that I would like to give.  What happens when a family gets together for a dinner or celebration such as during the Christmas holidays and a football game is going to be on at the same time of that fellowship?  Most guys have to watch that game no matter what.  This past Christmas I found myself watching the Eagles play the Cowboys when family came over our house for Christmas dinner.  It was an important game, but why?  In the end I noted how meaningless watching that game really was.  I actually discovered that a long time ago, which is why I don’t make it a priority to watch the football games.  In essence, they do nothing for me, contribute nothing to my life, I have no control over the outcome, and they are therefore meaningless to me.  Therefore, why bother putting the time into something that is just a waste of time when I could be more productive doing something else.  Why was that game so important that it superseded the opportunity to spend quality time with family?  It’s not like we get together so frequently that we can casually watch a football game together.

This is why we don’t accomplish our goals and partly why our goals are misplaced in the first place.  This is why the things that we should put time into are neglected and suffer loss because we are too busy investing time and energy that really don’t matter.

{12} Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Paul says that he presses on that he may accomplish the goal.  That goal is the thing that Jesus Christ gave him to do.  Paul was dedicated to accomplish the goal and in the process he suffered a great deal.  What goals are you pressing to accomplish?  Where is your life going?  It is true that we don’t know what will happen at the very next second, but we still should find ourselves on a particular path to accomplish our goals.  We should strive to do something with our lives so that we would be fulfilled.

{13} Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, {14} I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Again we see that Paul is pressing towards the mark.  He forgets about what is behind him so that he could press on to that which is before him.  Paul is committed to accomplishing the goal that he has received from Jesus Christ.  What about you?  What goals are you accomplishing?  What goals have you set?

Persist To Enjoy Your Life

The life of a Christian is not just a ministry.  It is not improper to find enjoyment in your life.  I like what Solomon says about this.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (NKJV) -- {24} Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. {25} For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

Does this mean that our primary pursuit is happiness?  No.  However, I believe that we should learn to enjoy the moments that are enjoyable and endure the moments that are hard.  I believe that happiness is something that we have to work towards like anything else.  Life won’t bestow happiness upon you.  If you want to be happy then you will have to pursue it.  Of course true happiness comes when we obey God.  Within that we have the day-to-day decisions that guide our lives.  There are a plethora of variables that drive us to make one decision or another.  I believe that we should factor in the affects of those decisions and remember that we should at least enjoy our lives.

Too often we are so vehement about the destination that we forget about the journey.  Sure the journey will be hard sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that I merely look for the hardest road and pursue that.  I should be sensitive to those things that would give me a sense of happiness and fulfillment.  It’s kind of like smelling the flowers as we go along the road of life.

Again, I have found that it is important that we pursue our own happiness and do something to work towards it.  Happiness isn’t going to come on its own.  No I have to qualify what I mean by happiness here.  Happiness is not merely feeling good.  Not understanding that could result in selfish gain and the like.  True happiness comes from God as we live according to his way.  But not to get too religious here, I would say that happiness is when we look back on the day and are satisfied.  There may have been some tough spots, but ultimately we can look back and say, “Today was a good day.”

Happiness is when you can take a bird’s eye view of our lives and be pleased with the path.  We will of course realize that we still have a journey ahead of us, but we are at can at least look at our lives and realize that we are content, fulfilled, and on the correct path.  True happiness cannot occur if we are contrary to God’s will.  We may feel good, but ultimately we cannot be truly happy because true happiness transcends mere feelings and is associated with fulfillment in my opinion.

Don’t Give Up

Whatever you do, do not give up.  Stay on the path to accomplish your goals.  Don’t let the fact that things get tough cause you to drift away.  There may be times when you reassess your goals and modify them, but don’t give up on your goals.  Continue to pursue them.  I would also like to admonish you to…

1. Pursue a relationship with the Lord as a number one priority
2. Pursue a good relationship with your spouse if you are married
3. Pursue a good relationship with family and friends
4. Pursue the goals that you have set out to accomplish or those that have been rightfully imposed onto you (Things pertaining to your job for example).

Be diligent to accomplish your goals.  Stay on course and pursue your dreams.

Final Words

Develop a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  We don’t know what is truly important because we cannot rightfully pave our roads as we go.  True happiness and true fulfillment can only come as we strive to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

New Year is the time of year where people make New Year’s resolutions, but most of these resolutions are abandoned within a few weeks.  Don’t be like that any more.  Sit down and think about your goals.  Make a plan to accomplish those goals and persist in the pursuit of them.

Nurture those things that are truly important.  Count those things as loss that does not contribute to true fulfillment and happiness.  Neglect those things that do not contribute to you reaching your goals.  After all, why invest time and energy for something that has no meaning in your life?

Persist in accomplishing your goals until they are done.  It may be bumpy sometimes and sometimes you may find yourself going backwards.  However, be encouraged because those times of perceived failure are all part of the process of progression.  Just continue on the journey and try to enjoy it as you go.  Amen.