Last week, we discussed the first aspect of developing the quality of Tenacity - Connection. Over the course of the next three weeks we will be discussing three other aspects of the tenacity.
The definition of the word is: the quality or fact of being able to grip something firmly; the quality or fact of being very determined; the quality or fact of continuing to exist; persistence.
As parenting expert, Sue Atkins writes: “We live in a culture that celebrates overnight successes – as they’ve seen billionaire tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerman, Jeff Bezos and YouTube sensations take the world by storm overnight.
People need to hear about how Harry Potter author J.K Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before getting her first book published , how Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star newspaper because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas” or how Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything” yet after that he went on to hold more than 1,000 patents and invented some world-changing devices, like the electric bulb after 1,000 unsuccessful attempts. They need to ponder Michelangelo taking 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel or the Egyptians taking 20 to build one pyramid.”
If you were going to point to the most tenacious person you know? Who would that be?
<Personal example>
Tenacity is probably one of the most admirable characters a person can possess. It’s the ability to be determined to do, or achieve, regardless of any setbacks
During the pandemic, we have all had setbacks and suffered:
some financially - over 25% unemployment at one point.
some emotionally - there have been a huge increase in suicides, homicides and overdoses
some relationally - divorces and separations have increased. Abuse of children and spouses is higher than a year ago
Most of us spiritually - Netflix will never renew your soul. You can’t watch enough. Delivery services will never give you enough food or alcohol. All of which have increased usage over a year ago.
However, some have not only survived but thrived. They didn’t crumble. They:
took stock of the situation,
came before God,
analyzed their role
and consciously began to work on those items they had some personal control over.
In her book, Celebrate Joy! Velma Seawell Daniels gives a striking new meaning to this familiar phrase. She tells of interviewing a man who had made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle. "Never ask an Eskimo how old he is," the man said. "If you do, he will say, "I don’t know and I don’t care." And he doesn’t. One of them told me that, and I pressed him a bit further. When I asked him the second time, he said, "Almost - that’s all." That still wasn’t good enough for me, so I asked him "Almost what?" and he said, "Almost one day." Mrs. Daniels asked him if he could figure out what the Eskimo meant. He answered that he did but only after talking to another man who had lived in the Arctic Circle for about twenty years. "He was a newspaperman who had written a book about the Eskimos and their customs and beliefs. He said the Eskimos believe that when they go to sleep at night they die - that they are dead to the world. Then, when they wake up in the morning, they have been resurrected and are living a new life. Therefore, no Eskimo is more than one day old. So, that is what the Eskimo meant when he said he was ‘almost’ a day old. The day wasn’t over yet." "Life above the Arctic Circle is harsh and cruel, and mere survival becomes a major accomplishment," he explained. "But, you never see an Eskimo who seems worried or anxious. They have learned to face one day at a time." Have you learned how to put worry and anxiety aside and live one day at a time? Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
The Eskimo story emphasizes one of the greatest aspects to tenacity: knowing who is in control and what’s our role. This is so easy to say and so hard to live.
Consider the Israelites, newly freed from slavery and heading toward the land God promised. When they worried about their enemies, God parted the sea to give them victory. When they worried about food, God made manna fall at their feet in the desert. When they worried about water, God caused it to flow from a rock. Yet, despite God’s miraculous provisions again and again, the Israelites’ hearts wavered with fears and doubts again and again, never fully resting in the knowledge that God will provide. “Jehovah Jirah”
Even Moses, after being center stage with God for years, forgot his role in the cosmic play being played out.
Take a listen to the Story of Numbers 20:2-12
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Notice in verse 10, where Moses takes ownership of God’s power and in verse 11 where Moses blatantly ignores God’s instruction to speak to the rock. In that moment, we see the difference between our will and control and God’s. God may tell us to do something and we disobey for a myriad of reasons. However, when God directs, we must obey and cede control.
We all resemble the Israelites in this respect. Although we have experienced tremendous proof of God’s steadfast care and his blessings beyond our imagining in many cases, our ability to rest our will and control in God waivers.
The scripture points to one of the struggles of continually being someone with tenacity. When we stay true to our role in the struggle but hold tight to the objective, we will attain that which God has placed in our hearts. It may cost us physically and mentally. However, the outcome is assured. When we waiver, we pay the price but it doesn’t mean God’s will be upended. God’s will is assured.
There can be no doubt. Jesus was tenacious. He was connected to the Father. He knew the Father was in control and understood His role in the unfolding drama. Nowhere was this more evident than in the garden of gethsemane. The scriptures tell us he wrestled with God’s plan. He prayed and spoke to the father to the point He sweat blood. In the end, He allowed the soldiers to escort Him to His gruesome death so He could fulfill the original plan.
Tenacity refers to perseverance in spite of fatigue or frustration. It is a trait of the greatest of our faith. It is also a trait cultivated: connection, Control, confidence, commitment.
What is God calling you to remain steadfast about this week?
