Perseverance in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce labored for the cause of social justice for 46 years, often against significant opposition. There was public pressure arising from the national interests at stake. John Piper explains this in Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce –

"It seemed utterly unthinkable to Parliament that Britain could prosper without what the plantations of the West Indies provided. If one nation, like Britain unilaterally abolished the slave trade and others did not, it would mean…that power and wealth would be transmitted to other nations and Britain would be weakened internationally."

Wilberforce's public image suffered greatly when he spoke out against Queen Caroline’s marital unfaithfulness. There were also accusations that he cared more for the slaves than for the poor of England. Sadly, he also experienced the death of his daughter.

Yet, he persevered. Piper tells us that his opponents took note of his endurance.

“His adversaries complained that Wilberforce ‘jumped up whenever they knocked him down.’ One of them in particular put it like this: ‘It is necessary to watch him as he is blessed with…that Enthusiastic spirit, which is so far from yielding that it grows more vigorous from blows.’"

What was the secret of his perseverance? According to Piper, it was more than simply the encouragement of good friends, though Wilberforce had many. His remarkable perseverance in the midst of challenging work is rooted in an unquenchable joy in God.

“There is a deeper root of Wilberforce’s endurance than camaraderie. It is the root of childlike, child-loving, self-forgetting joy in Christ.”

Piper conveys this in Wilberforce’s own words -

"We can scarcely indeed look into any part of the sacred volume without meeting abundant proofs, that it is a religion of Affections that God particularly requires…Joy is enjoined to us as our bounden duty and commended to us as our acceptable worship…A cold…unfeeling heart is represented as highly criminal."

Piper concludes with this thought -

"When we say that Wilberforce’s joy was unshakeable and undefeatable…we mean that he had learned the secret of “the good fight”, and that his embattled joy reasserted itself in and after every tumult in society and in the soul."

How do you respond when the “chips are down”?
Do you persevere in such a way that your spirit “grows more vigorous from blows”?
How can we capture the kind of joyful perseverance that characterized Wilberforce and apply that in our lives?