Perseverance Pays

By Richard (Dick) Innes, Daily Encounter Tuesday, September 04, 2007

"Let us not become weary in doing good: for in due season we will reap, if we don't faint."1

Had Thomas Edison not been a man of faith, perseverance and determination, we may still be working by gaslight or, at least, it may have been many years before the first electric light was seen.

It has been reported that Edison failed over 6,000 times before perfecting the first electric light bulb.

On one occasion a young journalist challenged Edison saying to him, "Mr. Edison, why do you keep trying to make light by using electricity when you have failed so many times? Don't you know that gas lights are with us to stay?"

To this Edison replied, "Young man, don't you realize that I have not failed but have successfully discovered six thousand ways that won't work!"

Because Edison believed an electric light was possible, he refused to give up. He tried countless types of material in his search for a filament that would work. He sent men to China, Japan, South America, Asia, Jamaica, Ceylon and Burma to search for fibers to test in his laboratory—all to no avail.

On October 21, 1879, after thirteen months of repeated failures, Edison finally succeeded in finding a filament that would work. While experimenting, the thought came to him, "Why not try a carbonized cotton fiber?" After going through two spools of cotton, he eventually perfected a strand only to break it while trying to place it in a glass tube. He still persevered with this idea for two more days and nights without sleep. Finally he succeeded in placing a carbonized thread into a vacuum-sealed bulb! Eureka! It worked.

"Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you have a mission in life for me to fulfill. Give me the insight to know what it is, the faith to believe you will help me, the courage to attempt to do it, and the perseverance to hang in there and 'not faint' till my life's work is done. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

1. St. Paul (Galatians 6:9).

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