1 Tim. 6.11: (Conybeare) But thou, O man of God, follow . . . steadfastness (and the note to the word steadfastness is "steadfast endurance under persecution").
I have been thinking of the persecution of circumstances. The body can be persecuted by pain, weariness, lack of strength to do, and so on. The spirit can be persecuted by disappointment, rending of many kinds, such as the particular kind our Lord described in Matt. 7.6. ["Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."] Those who have given their pearls--pearls of love, every kind of pearl they had to give--and have then met ingratitude and perhaps untruth, know what these words mean. But come what may, "O man of God [O woman of God], follow steadfastness". No persecution, whether it be of body or of spirit, need ever conquer us. We are called to fight the good fight of faith. If we saw the victorious issue of the fight, it would not be a fight of faith. If we saw the end of the road clearly and the reason why we are being led along this particular road, we would not walk by faith, but by sight. Again and again the emphasis is on faith.
Lord, increase our faith that we may follow steadfastness--even unto the end. --Edges of His Ways, Amy Carmichael
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