When God told Abraham, “You will have a son”, he believed it. But after then he waited the first year, second year, third year, twentieth year, till the twenty-fifth year and all that time, the Bible says:

“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Romans 4:20

That does not mean he was never tempted to stagger but he was tenacious in the faith until the promise was fulfilled.

“And after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:15

So, tenacity talks of endurance; elasticity or the ability to withstand the stretch of faith. And in 2 Timothy 2:3, the Bible says for us to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. We are to withstand satan’s confrontations on our way to obtaining God’s promises, staying on without wavering or giving up. That is what tenacity is all about.

Your blessing is so close to you but the trick of the devil is that the closer you are to it, the more pressure he puts on you. So, every time you see pressure mounting, it is an indication that you are closer to your miracle and that is when you should press the more. When you see the opposition getting stronger you position yourself better because breakdown comes knocking on the eve of your breakthrough. There is just a moment between break down and breakthrough. Pressure is the turning point to your pleasure. Paul said:

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised.)” Hebrews 10:23

Why Tenacity?

The reason for tenacity is that life is a fight. We are in warfare not fun fare. Even if you don’t want to fight, there is a man called the devil; your adversary who constantly wants to engage you in a fight. That is his mission according to Jesus. He said, “The thief comes not but to steal, to kill and to destroy…” (John 10:10).

So, you don’t start crying if your child has fever, you rise up to the challenge because it is an indication that Satan wants to engage you in a fight. Life is a fight. If Satan touches your business and you don’t react, he will go for your head and attempt to kill you.

Life is a fight! You don’t have to like it, you just have to fight it. Naturally speaking, I grew up as a very gentle man, I didn’t like to fight, but when the enemy started fighting me with witchcraft, I told myself, “If you wait you will die for nothing! Fight!” And I am here today because I fought. Satan’s intention is to take you out of existence, so if you want to live, you must fight! Stand up and say to him, “No, I must live! My child must live! My business must prosper!” That i why the Bible says:

“…Now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Mathew 11:12

If “The violent taketh it.” then it means the gentle shall lose it. You think Jesus made a mistake when He said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents…” (Matthew

10:16)? No! He knows who your enemy is, so He says to you, “If you must overcome him, you have to be as wise as a serpent.” And what does a serpent do? It fights. 

A serpent is not a friend, it is always looking for an opportunity to strike. So, Jesus is trying to help you understand from that statement that you have both the nature of a sheep (which is gentleness and submission to God) and that of a serpent (which is to fight). You carry both the gentle nature of a sheep and the fighting anointing of a serpent, so use it! Never befriend negative circumstances. Rather, strategically strike at the enemy of your progress and well being.

Naturally speaking, we see fighting as evil but in the realm of the spirit, the Bible says, “Fight the good fight.” (1 Timothy 6:12). So fighting (especially spiritual warfare) is good. Many believers have been robbed of their inheritance because they are too gentle to fight.

Every time Satan harasses them, they withdraw. Many blessings come their way but when they are almost touching it, the devil takes it from them. Then they start the process all over again, believing God for another opportunity. That will not be your experience any more!

In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus told a parable of a man who planted good seed in his farm but his servants got there and found tares among the wheat. When they came and told the owner of the farm he said, “An enemy has done this” (Matthew 13:26-28). So, whatever is contrary to good in your life is the work of the enemy and you don’t watch your enemy, you fight him!…

This text is an extract from the book “THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH” written by David O. Abioye. 
We invite you to read the following article “LOVE: THE MOTIVE OF FAITH“.

THE PLACE OF ENDURANCE. THE PLACE OF ENDURANCE.

THE PLACE OF ENDURANCE. THE PLACE OF ENDURANCE