Persistence, or the power to “keep on keeping on,” is a good thing. But when it’s just willpower that is propelling our efforts, it can easily come up short. An article I read online talked about willpower in relation to a battery, calling it “a finite resource; one that could be spent only so much before it had to be recharged” (“You can crash,” medium.com, September 9, 2023). That’s a discouraging thought. It implies that even if we feel fully charged at the start of a project, we can expect to feel tired and depleted at some point.

But I’ve learned from studying Christian Science that we aren’t some kind of human battery that can power along only for a finite period of time. God is the source—and we are the effortless expression—of energy, strength, and stamina. It’s similar to the difference between drawing on the reserves of a battery and being powered by the sun. The latter is limitless, continuous, and self-sustaining, while the former is not.

I admit that I’m still working on demonstrating this distinction. Recently, however, I’ve been praying to better understand and put into practice what the Apostle Paul calls “patient continuance in well-doing” (Romans 2:7). While forced endurance and stress tolerance don’t cut it, “patient continuance” is the basis of real success, even in the face of major obstacles.