Persistence

Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4.7

There are times when the grace that we rely on to succeed in our supernaturally difficult Christian life is obstructed. This obstruction could be taking place for multiple different reasons. In some instances, we are aware of the reason that we are being obstructed and are able, as a result, to strategize means of working around whatever obstacles are being put in our path.

In other instances, however, we are not aware of why it is that we are being obstructed. The obstruction persists, nonetheless. In both cases, but particularly in the latter case, we need to make recourse to the power of the will.

Any spiritual, or even natural, action always, of course, involves the activity of the will. Christianity is synergistic and our sanctification and salvation is predicated on our willingness to open ourselves to the divine grace of God and align our human will with His holy will. This is not, however, what we are talking about today.

The issue at hand relates to situations in which we find that the spiritual abilities (graces) that we usually rely on to progress as we do; seeds that have been planted in us by God which have blossomed as a result of our diligence in worship and sacrifice, seem to suddenly, confusingly, disappear.

Working hard for something (what that “something” is will change from person to person), only to wake up one day and find an the ability that we considered to be a tool upon which we could rely, has been snatched out of our hands is distressing. There is, however, good news regarding the truth of the situation and a practical solution to overcome its negative consequences.

The good news is that the grace has not, actually, disappeared. Rather, it is in a state of being covered: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one (John 10.28–30).

God is sovereign. He is in control. The Scriptures tell us that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11.29), which, as the Amplified Bible shows, means that “He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.”

Although graces cannot be stolen, they can be hidden, buried or disguised. As such, the goal is not so much to “regain” the grace (because the grace is still there), but to re-enter its mystery. To do this, however, we must “set our face” toward successful re-entrance: Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9.51).

Generally, the aim of sanctification is to locate, isolate and expel the fleshly vices of stubbornness, obstinacy and inflexibility from their dominant positions within the old man, so as to replace them with heavenly virtues of openness, adaptability and flexibility. In order to become who God created us to be, we must be like pliable clay that effortlessly responds to the slightest movement of His hands: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” (Jeremiah 18.6).

In cases such as this, however, the means through which we will overcome the adversary’s attempts to extinguish that which we, individually, contribute to the destruction of his kingdom, through our worship, is perseverance. Brute force is not a term that we usually associate with Christianity, for very good reasons.

There are times, however, when we have to be determined. We must prevail until we succeed, no matter how unpleasant the process. The power of the enemy is in his relentlessness. As Daniel explains, the reason why the enemy is so frequently successful in his attempts to destroy mankind is, simply, that his attempts never stop: He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7.25a). His persistence is his strength.

There is One, however, who is stronger: Christ. Christ will give us the strength to succeed but we have to be willing to do the work: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4.13). Practically speaking, this means that we have to make sure that the days in which we feel that the grace to proceed as usual is absent, look exactly the same as the days in which the grace is abundantly flowing. Whatever prayers that you were planning to pray, make sure that you pray them. Whatever work that you were scheduled to do, make sure that you do it. Whatever duties that you were due to fulfill, make sure that you fulfill them.

Although, our experience of said day will not necessarily be enjoyable, as a result of the exertion, and might feel far from spiritual, as a result of the lack of the grace in question, the graces of the day that were stored up for us in the heavenly places by God and the grace that we acquire as a result of swimming against the current to secure them, will be ours. The more that we persist in this mode of “attack,” the more rapidly our reserves will grow and the more quickly, they will, again, overflow.

Amen +

Author of You Are Mine and Apocalypse, Sister Anastasia writes on the role of the ancient, ascetic Church in a rapidly changing, modern world.

Photo by Jake Weirick on Unsplash