Kelsey Pfendler showed tremendous tenacity in her solo row from California to Hawaii. In a 132-square-foot boat, alone for 43 days, Kelsey persevered.
As if finishing wasn’t reward enough, Kelsey became the first American woman to solo row the mid-Pacific ocean. She beat the records of the fastest man (52 days) and woman (86 days). Kelsey is a whitewater river guide in the Grand Canyon and loves nothing more than being in a boat on open water.
When asked how she kept going, Kelsey quoted a female ultramarathoner who won a race last year and said that her motivation was, “Why not me?” Through the blisters, exhaustion, and loneliness, Kelsey would repeat that question to herself, steeling her resolve to keep going. She also celebrated the fresh energy that sunrises brought, the beauty of the water, and the passing ships which radioed to make sure she was alright. They were quite bewildered as to what she was doing.
We could define tenacity as the quality of being very determined, persisting through difficult challenges, and refusing to give up on a goal. That certainly fits the perseverance of Kelsey Pfendler on her small boat. Is it helpful for serving the body of Christ?
The need for tenacity in serving Jesus often catches volunteers by surprise. Persistence is something we think of with great physical feats of endurance but not necessarily in terms of serving the Lord. We tend to put our own volunteer positions in the category of “I’ll help out as I am able with the strength I have. I don’t want to overexert myself.” No stamina necessary.
Serving as a volunteer in a ministry absolutely demands tenacity. For starters, we are busy, over-burdened people who need strength on daily a basis. When we serve the Lord, we face spiritual warfare. Our enemy is happy to discourage us, oppose us, and cause us to burn out.
God calls us to serve. We need strength to continue serving well.
That is why I love how often our Lord makes it clear that He provides our strength. His grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9-10). We serve by the strength God supplies (1 Peter 4:11). We present a gospel that reveals the surpassing greatness of the power of God (2 Cor 4:7). In the chapter previous to that last truth, Paul wrote…
~ 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Everything God asks of us, He asks based on something He has already done for us. Paul’s statement of adequacy is based on God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave us spiritual life in Jesus. The Spirit gifted us with ability to serve the body of Christ. And the Spirit empowers us to serve with stamina, to minister with persistence, and to discover power when we are weak.
We do not have to motivate ourselves with challenging questions. We simply need to serve. While serving, we need to admit our need for tenacity and depend on the Holy Spirit to provide.
As you pray this week, pray for our ministry leaders, volunteer servants, church leadership, and our missionaries to depend in greater ways upon God that they might experience a greater surge of strength in pointing others to Jesus this week. You might include yourself.
Love and blessings,
Dave