Bacteria are very interesting microorganisms. Some of them are
very important for our immune system, but others are
infectious. The infectious ones infect people and cause diseases.
Highly educated scientists make disinfectants to kill these
bacteria by damaging and destroying their cell walls, but they
change the cell walls in such a way that they won't be killed by
disinfectants.
Pharmacologists, pharmacists and medicinal chemists put their
knowledge, skills, experience and expertise together, and
discover, design and develop antimicrobial drugs. The drugs
just work for a few years, during which time the bacteria mutate
and develop resistance to these drugs. Some even go to the
extent of becoming multi-drug resistant making it very difficult
for scientists to thwart their infectivity and virulence.
Why do bacteria do all this? But they are so small that they
can't be seen with a naked eye. Why do they always succeed?
Do they have brains like us? Do they go to school?
I can happily tell you that non of all known bacterial species
has even a single member of theirs who holds an honors degree
of some kind, let alone a doctorate, from any of the universities
on earth. So, why do they excel in every job they perform?
They even win most of their wars against doctors and
professors. Why?
Bacteria have got an extremely strong desire to infect people
and cause disease, they always think and dream of doing so,
they have unwavering faith, and last but not least, they are
persistent. They never give up. They persevere in whatever they
do until they get what they want.
There are some people who say: “Life is a wound, it heals on
the day you die.” I don't agree with them. These are the types of
people who can easily give up, or have already given up. Keep
an eye on them daily, lest they commit suicide. If life is painful
to you, you make it painful. You are the pain in your life. Why?
Because you do not persevere.
Be like bacteria. When a new drug is introduced, they begin to
mutate and develop resistance against it. They successfully do
so, and eventually excel in their task of causing chronic, acute
and fatal infections.
In the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, Abraham and Sarah
persevered and at last they were blessed with a son, Isaac.
When they got Isaac, they were both very old and Sarah was
past the childbearing age. “Now Abraham and Sarah were
old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of
childbearing.” NKJV Genesis18: 11.
David, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, persevered and
eventually became the king of Israel. “And Soul cast the
spear, for he said, 'I will pin David to the wall!' But David
escaped his presence twice.” NKJV 1Samuel 18: 11. You can
read the whole story of David and find out for yourself how
courageous and perseverent he was. At the end, he got what he
prayed for daily.
Ever heard of Joseph, the son of Jacob? Yes, that man had
perseverance. He dreamed of greatness, desired greatness and
finally got it. Was he like some of us, he would have given up
his desire, dreams and expectations of being great when he was
cast into a pit, when he became a slave in Egypt, and when he
was put in prison. Read the whole story and understand it. All
the bad luck, misfortunes, troubles and problem we come
across in our lives can work to our own advantage if we know
how to make the best of every situation we find ourselves in
and find the good in all events of our lives.
Most of those you may call misfortunes may not be really
misfortunes at all. You know what, life if full of illusions and
surprises. Most of the things we call bad luck, misfortunes,
trouble and problems are really blessings in disguise. Give
yourself some five minutes or more to think about some
blessings in disguise you encountered in your life. You have got
a lot. If only you could be able to say to yourself: “This is a
blessing in disguise,” whenever something bad happens to
yourself and think about and expect that blessing, you will
never give up.
Had he not been cast into the pit, he wouldn't have been sold to
the Midianite traders. Had he not been enslaved in Egypt, he
wouldn't have been put in prison. Had he not been imprisoned,
he wouldn't have interpreted the butler's and the baker's dreams.
Had he not interpreted the butler's dream he wouldn't have been
given the chance to interpret Pharaoh's dream, too. Had he not
interpreted Pharaoh's dream, he would not have risen to power
in Egypt. Thus all the misfortunes and troubles that faced
Joseph were not only blessings in disguise, but stepping stones
to his greatness. He persevered and became great. Hitherto, we
read about his greatness.
Hannah, the wife of Elkanah strongly desired to have a son. She
prayed hard for a son. She persevered and eventually got
blessed with a son, Samuel, whom she dedicated to God.
Peninnah always provoked Hannah. “And her rival also
provoked her severely; to make her miserable, because the
LORD had closed her womb.” NKJV 1 Samuel 1: 6.
How many people provoke you, to make you miserable,
because of the colour of your skin? How many people provoke
you, to make you miserable, because of your disability? How
many people provoke you, to make you miserable, because of
your height? How many people provoke you, to make you
miserable, because of your body weight? How many people
provoke you, to make you miserable, because of your illness?
All those people who provoke you are the Peninnahs of today
and you are Hannah. All these Peninnahs are trying to
discourage you so that you can lose hope, give up and fail.
Never pay attention to them. Persevere and succeed.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah persevered and enjoyed
the fruits of their perseverance. Hananiah, Mishel and Azariah
were saved by God in a fiery trial. They were cast into a fiery
furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated and
they came out alive. Daniel came out of a den of lions alive.
God saved Daniel from the lions. All these people persisted and
persevered in their prayers. They were never dismayed. They
never gave up.
Had Jesus Christ given up, would we be talking about him
today, or would there be any New Testament in the Holy Bible?
No. Jesus Christ persisted and persevered. He never gave up.
Thus where others say: “Life is a wound, it heals on the day
you die,” we should say: “Never die until all your bones are
rotten.” Always rise each time you fall.
Jesus Christ knew a lot about the importance of perseverance.
He said: “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to
him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence
he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” NKJV Luke
11:8. You see, we are told to ask, ask and keep on asking.
“'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because
this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me.' Then the Lord said: 'Hear
what the unjust said. And shall God not avenge His own
elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears
long with them?'” NKJV Luke 18: 4-7.
Never be dismayed. Never give up. Persevere in asking,
seeking and knocking. He promised us that we will receive,
find and have the doors opened to us.
One thing you must know is we are all part of the universe. God
brings every person, animal, microorganism, plant and event
together so that they can all help you to attain your goal. This
may take seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, moths or even
years.
Lets say you strongly desire to buy and live in a new house in
Sandbanks (UK). You start thinking about it today, and thus you
have today created your desire for that house. The house may
not have been built yet, but you have already built it in your
mind. You know how many rooms it has. You know how big each
room is, and may be you roughly know how much it's going to
cost you to buy it.
You kneel down and start asking God for this new house, your
dream house. God is going to make Mr. Smith living in South
Africa decide to sell his plot in Sandbanks. God will also make
Mr. Thomson, a UK property developer, go to South Africa on
holiday and meet Mr Smith for the first time. They both haven't
met before, nor have they communicated before. Only God
Knows how and why. They coincidentally meet and
coincidentally discuss about the plot and coincidentally, Mr.
Thomson buys the plot.
After his holiday, Mr. Thomson goes back to UK. On the plane
back to UK, he coincidentally meets Mr. Knows, an architect
who has designed more than seventy percent of the houses in
Sandbanks. They discus about this new project that has just
come up and they agree. A year later, your dream home is build,
but you do not know that yet.
On your way to the local pub, a piece of newspaper being
blown away by the wind catches your eye. You run after it,
catch it and start reading it. You see, it has been torn off from
today's paper. You continue reading and find this advert for a
new house in Sandbanks, your dream house, but you can't
afford it.
At the pub, you meet Rex, the talkative lad from next door. He is
trying to quickly finish his bear and run to play lotto for
tonight's draw before the local supermarket closes. You give
him a quid and tell him to play luckydip for you. He does and
gives you the ticket. You go back home drank, sleep and forget
about the lotto and the dream house. You wake up tomorrow,
check the lotto results and find out that you have won the
jackpot. You buy your dream home.
Look at all this long chain of events some of which some
people may call coincidences. You created them the very day
you created a strong desire for this house. You made them
happen by strongly desiring this dream house, praying to God
for it, thinking about positive benefits of owning such a house,
having unwavering faith, practicing creative visualization, and
persevering.
Do the events make you give up? You can't get it today because
it hasn't been built yet. You can't get it next month because you
do not know there is such a house on sale in that area, moreover
you do not have the money to buy it. You will get it after all
these coincidental events happen. When the most convenient
time arrives, God gives you.
Some people give up. By giving up, you block one or more of
these coincidences, some people call them little miracles, from
happening, thus fail to achieve your goal. During all that time
you are asking God for whatever you desire, God is busy
arranging events, bringing all necessary people and tools
together, and looking for enough money for you. He does
everything for you. So, why are you dismayed? Work hard,
continue working hard. Keep on digging, you will get the
diamonds.
What makes people give up? What make people lose faith?
What makes people look back? What makes people lose
patience?
Of all demons that make people give up, make people lose
faith, make people look back and make people lose patience,
fear is the greatest and strongest. You may be afraid of taking
risks, afraid of losing, afraid of death, afraid of working hard,
afraid of cold weather. There are so many things that people are
afraid of. These fears draw you back.
All fear starts in the mind. You can't be afraid of cold weather
before you think of it. To wash fear off yourself, you must
control your mind. Think more of success than failure. Rub off
the word failure from your mental dictionary. Find friends,
books and movies that build your courage, not those that make
you more chicken hearted. Motivate yourself. Don't be afraid of
failure.
Misfortunes, bad luck, troubles and problems also discourage
people. All you have to know is that these are blessings in
disguise and they are stepping stones towards the achievement
of your goal. Any time you encounter one or more of them, you
should realize that God is doing his work. God is arranging all
the events, pooling all people and tools together so that you can
achieve your goal. Through all these, God is telling you: “You
are now on the bus to achievement. Your journey is safe.” Don't
get off it before receiving.
Some people are not patient enough. They pray for twin sons
today and want them to be born today. Why and how? There is
time to find the right partner, time for pregnancy and so on.
Yes, there are some things you may pray for today and get
today. When you do not get what you are asking for at the time
you expected it, do not lose patience, persevere. If you give up,
who knows, you may give up today when God was ready to
make you receive tomorrow. So, never look back. Never give
up.