As we explore the nature of God and his grace and mercy towards humanity, God’s persistence towards his creation is evident throughout Scripture, offering salvation and grace throughout time. Erickson states that throughout the Old and New Testament, “God is pictured as withholding judgment and continuing to offer salvation and grace over long periods of time.”[1] As seen in the Greek word makrothumia, slowness to anger, God is persistently, despite humanity's unworthiness, desiring fellowship with his creation. God’s persistence is often revealed in Scripture as God’s perseverance in pursuing his purposes and his will as our sovereign Lord. As we have explored God’s holiness, wisdom in all truth, grace, and mercy, the believer comes to understand our Creator’s sovereignty over all things and unlimited power to accomplish his will. As seen in Isaiah 55:9: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” To fully understand the wonder of God and who he is, the believer must grasp God’s sovereignty: nothing happens apart from his will as the Supreme Being. As Erickson points out, “If we have fully understood who and what God is, we will see him as the Supreme Being.”[2] The believer comes to this full revelation by developing an intimate relationship with God through the daily discipline of reading, studying, and meditating on his Word and in prayer. The persistence of God is revealed in Scripture. The truth of God’s Word, revealing God’s faithfulness and commitment to never change, and the fact that his promises in his Word are always true, describes how God relentlessly pursues and accomplishes his will regardless of humanity’s imperfection. God’s persistence is evident in his daily gift of mercy in Lamentations 3:22-23, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Nothing can interrupt God’s plan and will as seen in Isaiah 46:10-11, “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”
Through this revelation that God’s persistence is rooted in his sovereignty, the challenge for each believer is how we view God in our daily lives. Do we put God at the center, regarding him as our Lord, believing his ways are truly higher and his thoughts truly higher than ours? As Erickson points out, a reminder is needed every day of God’s supreme value; otherwise, “Instead of regarding God as our Lord, whose glory is the supreme value and whose will is to be done, we regard him as our servant. He is expected to meet all of our perceived needs and to answer to our standards of what is right and wrong.”[3] The believer can fall prey to this sin of pride over embracing a spirit of humility most easily when ‘doing good for the Lord’. Seeking first the will of God, recognizing that God knows what is best in the long run, requires the believer to trust that we are following a loving, all-powerful, omnipresent, and omniscient God. Erickson continues to state that we as believers must come to the Lord with a humble spirit, knowing through God’s love and persistence rooted in his perfect character, he has created us, not we him, and we exist for his glory, not he for ours.[4] Being grateful for God’s persistence in his love and faithfulness produces a humble heart that develops and grows.
Another aspect of God’s persistence and fervency towards his creation inspires the believer to also grow in their own persistence, not only in their love for God but also for others. As Jesus commands, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-38). Loving the Lord is seen in our intimate relationship with him, desiring him to be the center of our lives in everything we do, desiring his will in our lives, not our own will. Persistence in loving others can best be achieved through interceding for them in prayer. In Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus shows us the importance of persistent prayer and not losing heart. Our persistent prayers for those who are not walking with Jesus are vital to the Kingdom of God. Knowing and trusting God’s sovereignty in these prayers, whether we see the fruition in our lifetime or not, is critical. In the book of Revelation, God's throne room is described in chapter four as a place of incredible worship and God’s sovereignty. Holding on to the truth of God’s Word and that the prayers of the saints, golden bowls full of incense, represent the fervent, persistent, collected prayers of believers rising up to our Holy God, inspires me and others to persist in our heartfelt prayers for unbelievers and our own prodigals in our lives. Our relentless prayers are held in gold, treasured and fragrant, presented before our Holy, persistent, faithful, loving God who desires for no one to perish. Peace and confidence that my prayers are heard and that my tears are collected in golden bowls before the throne room come from knowing my God, who is all sovereign and all-loving, my Abba Father.