Daily Meditation: "Holy Persistence"

SCRIPTURE

“Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” - Luke 18:5

REFLECTION

The widow is persistent. How do we know? Because the judge says that she “keeps bothering” him. You don’t say that about something that isn’t persistently nagging at you. Because of her persistence, she is granted justice.

Do you know such people? Are you such a person yourself? What moves you to be persistent about something when you decide to be? Is it for something on behalf of yourself? Is it on behalf of someone else? When there are a million other things you could be doing, what moves you to stay on target and keep at it no matter what might stand in your way no matter how long it takes?

Persistence like that takes a lot of effort, a lot of strength and endurance, and a great deal of focus. That’s where we can fall short; in the focus department. Things can take longer than we wish they might, or we ourselves get distracted with the millions of other things we have to attend to, and our focus shifts or gets lost altogether and we move on. Remember what happened to Peter when he was walking on the water but then lost his focus?

Not the widow. Hers is a laser focus and she never relents. She stays fixed on her endgame and ultimately she receives it. In these trying times of ours, how easy is it to lose our focus? How many times do we think we need to finally get to this or that but we never do, or we begin something we don’t finish? It is easy to lose focus when there are a million things vying for our attention and our energy. How can we possibly stay focused on them all?

If we stay anchored in our sacred purpose to love God and one another, if we stay clothed in kindness, focus is easier to maintain. We know what we’re supposed to do and supposed to be. We may not always know quite how we’re going to do it, but we’ll keep at it because we know what love looks like and what kindness feels like.

Like the widow, let’s focus relentlessly on justice and kindness. Eventually, we’ll break down the stubbornness of our world and make it a better place for everyone.

PRAYER

Creator God, keep us focused and relentless in pursuits of kindness, justice, and mercy like our friend the widow.

Amen.

Peace,

Shawn