“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.

As a leader, one of your greatest battles will be with yourself. The struggle is likely to be pretty relentless, and it will be experienced at a number of levels. But one of the greatest of these challenges will be to keep going in the face of discouragement.

We often comment that ‘there is so much injustice in the world.’ There clearly is, and it is of tragic proportions. Furthermore, the fight against it is like playing ‘whack a mole’ on a momentous scale. Someone may be able to bang some injustice on the head here, but then a different form pops up over there. I was reflecting on Wilberforce’s long, enduring campaign to abolish slavery (and what discouragements he faced along the road). But today, there are probably more contemporary forms of slavery than ever.

Jesus, the Messiah, is bringing in a Kingdom of total justice, where there is fairness for all. He knows He will do it. So in spite of every demonic push-back against the forward movement of divine justice in the world, He ”will not falter or be discouraged”. Mid-match, it may appear, at times, that He’s on the losing side. But He knows He’s not! The game isn’t over, and He knows the final score. ‘There’s no discouragement, will make him once relent…’

‘Our motto must continue to be perseverance’ William Wilberforce

”May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (2 Thess.3:5).

‘By perseverance the snail made it to the ark.’ C.H.Spurgeon