How do you relate when you have a word from the Lord but things don’t work out immediately? Keep holding on! The wartime British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”. A story in the Bible perfectly illustrates this. Eleven of the tribes of Israel went to war against the tribe of Benjamin. This was to avenge the molestation and death of the wife of a Levite by some men of Benjamin. When the rest of the tribes asked for the lewd men to be handed over to face justice, they refused and instead mobilized for war. The children of Israel sought the face of God and got approval to fight. Here we have a situation of a just war being declared, plus the backing of God. Strangely, the combined forces of the 11 tribes lost to Benjamin on two different occasions. It was not until the third attempt that they obtained the victory.

“We must learn to persist for as long as may be necessary.”

Having a just cause and divine assurances may not always translate to an immediate positive outcome. We must learn to persist for as long as may be necessary. The story of the children of Israel further illustrates that losing some battles does not mean losing the war. Setbacks do not mean permanent failure. A righteous man may fall seven times and still bounce back again. As you learn to stay steadfast on the word of promise, God will change the narrative and give you the victory that you desperately desire.