At one time a competition was held for the best poem on how to attain success. This was the poem that won the prize:
Keep on, Keep on, Keep on,
Keep on, Keep on,
Keep on, Keep on, Keep on,
Keep on,
Keep on!
The quality of persistence —of continuing steadfastly in a purpose despite opposition—is a key ingredient to success in our lives. It certainly played an important role in the lives of many Biblical figures. Nehemiah's persistence in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, despite repeated attempts to stop or delay the work, led to its completion. Paul persisted in spreading Christianity despite imprisonment, shipwreck, stoning, and house arrest. He lived what he wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians: "Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." And in First Thessalonians he counsels, "Pray without ceasing." I Cor. 15:58; I Thess. 5:17.
