Timothy’s mentor urges him to be persistent in his ministry whether the time is favorable or unfavorable. I suspect that things that appear favorable on the surface, at first glance, for whatever we feel called to do may turn out not to be favorable at all once we settle in to do the work. On the other hand, when we look at situations that seem unfavorable, perhaps even hopeless, we may be surprised to discover how fruitful the opportunity becomes, if we persist in following God’s lead. Nothing is impossible for God.

We, of course, have to get out of the way for God to use us to accomplish the divine will on earth. So long as we are trying to do everything our own way, working on our particular schedule, planning down to the last detail, being in control of it all, leaving no room for the Holy One to step in with Love, we will, no doubt, find the results are not what we hoped for. We likely will decide the situation was unfavorable for what we had to offer. If, however, we have finally come to that place in life where we have realized how little, if anything, we can do on our own and how freeing it is to surrender our life to God, trusting the Holy One to use us as God’s hands and feet and voice in the here and now, we probably will come across one circumstance after another that appears favorable to us for the use of our gifts, our time, and our talent. And I suspect the results will bear that out.

It is most often a long journey to get to the place of abandoning ourselves to divine providence, in the words of Jean-Pierre de Caussade, but being persistent, praying always, and never losing heart as Jesus says smoothes the way.