Persistence Pays Off
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Malachi 4:4-6
"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
When the author of Malachi was penning these words, he likely was not aware these would be the last words of the “Old Testament”. They are fitting words of conclusion to our record of God’s relationship to man in the time before the arrival of His Son. The writer implores us to “remember the law of my servant Moses”.
Persistence in our spiritual lives is not always easy. God’s people in the time of Malachi had become doubtful of God’s love for them and of His justice. Seeing evil people prosper bothered them a lot. The book of Malachi is closed with an admonition to stick to the basics with reassurance that God would be faithful to the faithful.
In the lives of health professionals, persistence is a key asset. When the diagnosis is difficult or when the patient is non-compliant to our recommendations, the most successful health providers are not always the smartest, but sometimes the most persistent.
A physician in a city where I practiced was notorious for being late for everything. His patients expected to wait for hours for the opportunity to see him as he rarely stayed on schedule for their appointments. When I first knew him, I was amazed he was able to keep a following of patients because of what seemed to be terrible work habits. But as I came to know him better and had an opportunity to talk with many of his patients, I came to understand why his patients stuck with him. They knew if he was late for them, it was because of his persistence in working with another patient with a difficult problem. They had confidence, that when their time came to need him urgently or need more time than the allotted appointment for their problem, that he would be there for them.
Can God depend on us for that kind of persistence in our walk with him? He expects us to faithfully follow the laws of Moses – to faithfully seek and follow His will.
Lord, keep me faithful to you and your commands.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Thanos Pal on Unsplash
