Persevere

    There's a famous line from the second movie of the Matrix trilogy in which Morpheus is addressing the people just before the pending invasion from the machines.  Through this speech he speaks of his beliefs and how they may differ from others.  He talks about how long they've been at war with the machines and yes, how they'll keep coming but at the end of this talk he makes one more massive declaration.  At the top of his lungs and with all his might he belts out,

     "WE ARE STILL HERE!"

     The crowd erupts with cheering and chants.  It becomes a rally cry for those people.

     Here we find ourselves in September of 2020.  Those numbers almost feel like they shouldn't be said out of fear to what they may hold.  We're still navigating the COVID crisis and for us down in southwest Louisiana, we're recovering from one of the worst hurricanes in more than a century.  There's a palatable tension between "throwing in the towel" and "we are still here."

     Back on December 31, 2019, which seems like a decade ago now, I had the privilege of being the emcee for a New Years Eve night of worship our church was hosting.  On that night there was a few stations set up around the room to allow for writing, prayer, creative responses, and the like.  One particular station had small pieces of paper and pens.  The goal was for you to spend time with God asking Him to give you a word for 2020 and then writing that word on one of those pieces of paper and then placing it somewhere you would see it regularly.  I still have this little piece of paper clipped to my visor in my truck.  The word God gave me that night, you guessed it, persevere.  I knew then and even shared with some that wasn't a word I really wanted.  It's like praying for patience.  You don't automatically get patience, you just get put into situations which require you to be patient.  You don't magically persevere, you just get put into situations that require perseverance.

     In Galatians 6:9, Paul writes,

     "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (ESV)

     If we do not give up...  How easy is it to stop doing what we're called to do when things get tough much less impossible.  Prior to evacuating for our dear friend Laura, I had spent a lot of time listening to the song Rattle by Elevation Worship.  One of the lines says,

     "Since when has impossible, ever stopped You?"

     God deals in the impossible and yes even the improbable.  I can't tell you that 2021 is going to be better.  I can't even tell you that September is going to be better.  I can tell you we have a God who is still in the miracle business and is still making impossible possible.

     Stay the course!  In due time we will reap the promised reward if we don't give up.  Keep persevering, keep doing it together.  Unity is the key now more than ever.  If you still have breath in your lungs God isn't finished with you.  Yeah, troubles are going to continue to come and the war rages on but guess what,

     WE ARE STILL HERE!

    Photo by Martin Péchy on Unsplash