Trying again: Faithful perseverance in seasons of difficulty
We’re sitting amidst another COVID spike, wondering, perhaps, whether we’ll ever clear this thing. I’m not an epidemiologist (and I don’t even play one on TV) but I do see something in the Bible that might be helpful right now—whether you’re frustrated with COVID or dealing with an entirely different challenge.
I wrote earlier this year on some applications from Noah and the account of the flood. I recently revisited the same passage and saw something new:
Noah released a bird four separate times as the waters began to recede.
Four.
Only on the fourth time did the dove not return, serving as evidence that soon the land would again be dry and inhabitable.
Whether you are
- grappling with the fits and starts of a new business venture,
- launching your children into the world,
- taking on a new role in the workplace,
- making friends in a new hometown,
- or merely antsy for a post-pandemic reality…
… keep trying.
Noah’s actions in the account of the flood offer us a lesson in perseverance and patience. He didn’t even have a glimmer of hope until the third try when the dove returned with a branch.
That means he tried three times before anything even signaled a shift in the right direction. And he still had to send a bird out a fourth time before it didn’t return.
I don’t think there’s anything of significance in the number of tries; instead, it’s Noah’s patient perseverance we can learn from:
- If that friend doesn’t respond to your invitations the way you’d hoped, or your efforts and community falter, keep trying.
- As you navigate a new job or a shift in your parenting role, realize you might not get it “right” initially–but you will eventually learn.
- If you don’t get the promotion or the client or the opportunity you desire on the first (or second or third) attempt, take another pass at it.
I can’t assure you that what you want will eventually come to pass. I don’t have God’s foresight and I won’t promise you that everything will “eventually work out” the way you want it to. It might not. It will, however, all be redeemed by God in His time. (Plus, I’m not prone to toxic positivity. Research that topic if you’ve got time for a rabbit trail.)
What I can say with great certainty is that God wants us to become people of perseverance:
And those are just a few of the many verses that speak to perseverance as part of maturing in our faith.
So whatever uncertainty, challenge, or frustration you’re facing, friends, I pray you will, like Noah, draw the “bird” back inside, regroup, and then press on with fortitude and joy. Try again.
As you do, know that He is shaping and forming your character for His glory.