Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:14-16
Eric Sevareid was working as a journalist in Europe when Edward Murrow hired him in 1939 to help cover the impending Second World War. Sevareid was the first to report the fall of Paris to the Nazis in 1940 and continued filing reports from the front lines in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of the war. He stayed with CBS until his retirement in 1977. Asked once about being brave enough to file reports from active war zones, Sevareid replied, “Tenacity is a pretty fair substitute for bravery, and the best form of tenacity I know is expressed in a Danish fur trapper’s principle: ‘The next mile is the only one a person really has to make.’”
There is no way to overstate the importance of faithful persistence in fulfilling God’s plans for our lives. Very few meaningful things happen right away. In almost every case victory comes from a long process of faithful and diligent work that prepared us for the moment. Discouragement is nothing new for the people of God. Even the greatest men and women of faith have felt downcast and lonely in their work for God. “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). The answer that God gives is to keep going and not faint. He provides strength and encouragement and help when we call out to Him, and if we claim what He offers, we will find the resources to continue. We do not have to see all the way to the end of the road to be faithful for one more day or one more mile.
