Read 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, 13, 15

I’m sure Anne Mansfield Sullivan had a host of folks telling her that the blind, seven-year-old student wasn’t worth it. But Miss Sullivan persisted—despite the little girl’s temper tantrums, physical abuse, and mealtime madness. In her heart, Anne Sullivan knew she was worth all the pain. Was she ever! After several years of hard work, her once-impossible pupil learned to read and write in braille. Fast-forward to her student’s young adult years. She graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College (where Miss Sullivan had “spelled” each lecture during each semester into her hand). Ultimately, Helen Keller devoted the rest of her life to aiding the deaf and the blind.

Talk about the value of staying at it!

The same is true of the life of faith. That’s why Paul wrote what he did to the Corinthian believers, awash in a culture of ease:

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.... But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” ...And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. (2 Corinthians 4:8–9, 13, 15)

If you give up now, you have no idea the ultimate impact of that decision. By staying at it, you allow God to work things out for good and ensure that more and more in this watching world will be encouraged by your persistence. They may even take “I quit” out of their vocabulary.

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.