Persistence: The Key to Your Success

Exo 17:11 – 12 And it happened when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses' hands became heavy. And they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going of the sun.

Success is a battle you cannot you cannot afford to lose. Even in moments when it seems you are losing you must persist. In the text above, the Israelites won the battle due to the persistence of one man – Moses. He chose not to give up even when his was worn out.

Persist in your struggle to succeed so long as you know that you are fighting the right battle. In moments when you realize you can fight alone don’t hesitate to call for support. Moses had help from Aaron and Hur and his hand remained up till the end.

Until you see the result you want, let your hands be up. Never let your hand down.

Provocation Must Bring the Best out of you

1Samuel 1:6 – 7.  And her foe also provoked her grievously, in order to make her tremble, because Jehovah had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her. And she wept and did not eat. NKJV

It is easy to lose control and break down when you are provoked as happened in the life of Hannah. That is the reason for all provocations. It is intended to make you focus on the worse side of yourself. Provocation points to your failures and tries to define you by them.

But surely, you are not defined by your failures unless you choose to. You can change provocation to motivation. This is because failure is not final. Failure only shows you how not to succeed. Once that lesson is learnt, you can move on to find the way to achieve your aim.

The provoker is happy when you break down and cry. His aim is achieved. But when you ignore the taunts and focus on achieving your aim, the provoker is defeated. Hannah was provoked for years by her rival until she decided to seek the right solution in the temple. That day was the beginning of the end her barrenness. When you are provoked, take it as a challenge. 

A young man who once worked as a cleaner in a university told a story about how he was insulted by a university student because this young man was a school dropout. This young man took the insult calmly. He enrolled in remedial school and now has university degree. He said that insult motivated him to seek education.

Thank God for those who provoke you. They are those who encourage you the most.

YOU CAN STILL MAKE IT