Persistency Vs. Consistency – By Erika Sebastian
Consistent – means behaving or acting the same way or doing something the same way over time.
Persistent – means continuing to do something despite difficulties and challenges.
This is something that has been on my heart for a while, and it is something that has challenged me. I truly believe that you can’t write a devotion without it being something that either the Lord has specifically laid on your heart or something that He’s dealing with you personally about. And this topic is one of those for me.
In everyone’s life there are highs and lows (some greater than others and some that stand out to us more). And sometimes it’s easy to serve God, go to church, and read out Bible. I thank God for those “easy” times where we have that desire to learn and grow in Him. But other times it’s just not. Now, I don’t mean that we don’t want to live for Him anymore, but I’m talking about the times that we know we need to go to church or read our Bible because we feel that urge or pull, but we can’t seem to get past the heaviness of our trial. Or, maybe, we’ve allowed ourselves to become dry or bitter because of our circumstances.
We’re all human, and it’s understandable to feel defeated or overwhelmed when bad things happen. But the first step to overcoming and ‘persisting’ on is laying all our cares at the foot of the cross and recognizing that we cannot go through this life on our own and we need Him to help us!
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
We often hear Christians say to be consistent with God and to “just keep going”; but as we read in the definition it’s not given into account of our circumstance. That’s why I like to say persistent because it means we keep going, despite the difficulties and cares of life.
Philippians 3:14 says, “I PRESS toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
The story of Job’s life always inspires me because he lost his family, his home, and his health. At first he had the normal human reaction; and he did get bitter, and then it went away.
1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”
In conclusion, I’m grateful that I have a God Who sees and knows every season of life that we walk through and wants to see us “press” on to the end. Life does come with challenges and seasons of bitterness, hardship, and confusion; but God promises that He’ll never leave or forsake us. I’ve experienced His hand that walks beside us during difficult times.
Do not give up, friend! God sees and knows where you are. The reward is always greater than the suffering, and it will get better. Persist till the end, because it wall all be worth it soon!