When things don’t go how you thought, or don’t happen immediately, it can be easy to think that the door is permanently closed. But what if it’s just stuck? If that door is the entrance into your purpose and vision you don’t want to call it quits just because it doesn’t open after you give it a light knock. You want to KNOCK like you mean it. And then you want to knock some more. And then you want to grab that doorknob, turn it and thrust your whole body into that door and shout, “I’m coming in!”
In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about how persistent insistence is a kingdom principle.
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
This widow used persistent insistence to get the justice she was due. This unjust judge granted her justice but not because he grew a conscious or felt compassion for this woman. He granted her justice for himself. It was for his sake, fearing that at some point this woman would eventually attack him.
So this widow went to the judge and made her request and she was denied. So she went home, and the next day went to the same judge and made her request. He probably had a confused look on his face because she was back making the same request and then said no. So she went home, but every time she goes home she is confronted with her adversary. It’s this motivating factor that causes her to wake up determined the next day to get justice.
To employ persistent insistence you need to be sold on what you are after. If this door is the way to realize your vision, you need to get sold on what you have to offer. You need to get sold on who you are. What is that thing inside you that people have no idea that is in there, but if they did it would change their lives? What ideas do you possess that the world needs? You need to sell yourself on what you have to offer. It’s easy to tell when you need to resell yourself, your fear outweighs your action. NO PROBLEM! Get sold on what you are doing.
My son executes this principle like a master. If he wants some gum or candy he will ask and ask and ask and ask and ask and ask, oh and did I say, he will ask again. It’s this frequency that eventually sells me on granting his request. First my son wants what he is asking for and second he doesn’t get offended or emotional about me saying no. These two factors enable his ability to persistently insist.
It’s important to note that Jesus equates persistence insistence with faith. We are made to knock down doors. Don’t shy away from your purpose, and don’t mistake a stuck door for a permanently closed door. It just needs a little persistence insistence!