Perseverance Required

One morning, one of my sons asked me to drive him to the golf course so he could practice. He is on his high school golf team and thus practices often. I had a busy day ahead of me, but decided I would take him anyway.

Soon after I dropped him off, my son called and said that he wanted me to come pick him up because he was having a difficult day and was frustrated with his swing. So, I turned around and picked him up. On the way home, we talked about commitment and about perseverance.

Trying to achieve ongoing and sustained spiritual growth is like getting frustrated after 20 minutes on the golf range. It happens, and it happens frequently.

The best golfers in the world are those who push through their emotions every day, and do the things they need to even when they don’t feel like it.

The same principle applies to achieving ongoing spiritual growth. In order to achieve it, you will need to practice every day, even when you don’t feel like it. Are you up to it? Do you truly desire to achieve ongoing spiritual growth?

Achieving the spiritual growth you desire is not complicated. It is, however, difficult. Not difficult because spiritual growth is hard to figure out. Rather difficult because of the perseverance which is required due to the nature of spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth always occurs incrementally…bit by bit…little by little each day. Therefore each day is an opportunity to engage in a “spiritual growth activity,” such as prayer, reading your Bible, etc…and experience a small amount of spiritual growth.

The opposite is also true. If you miss a day of incremental spiritual growth, you can’t go back and double down the next day to make up for lost spiritual growth the day before. You can’t read the Bible or pray twice as long today to make up for what you skipped yesterday. Well, technically you can…but what I am saying is doubling down one day for a lost spiritual growth activity the day before will not produce twice as much spiritual growth.

Recently I was in the gym. A buddy of mine walked in and said, “Man I am going to be here a long time today…I missed yesterday so have to double up today.”

I am not sure this works even in the exercise world but I know it does not work in the spiritual growth world.

So what is the most important trait when it comes to you experiencing the spiritual growth you desire?Yep…that’s right…perseverance.

Perseverance is required for spiritual growth

Galatians 6:9 illustrates the larger principle:

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

In this passage, Paul is talking to followers of Jesus and encouraging them not to give up doing good to others, especially other followers of Jesus.

Today I want you to apply the same principle to your spiritual growth. Here’s my three word pep talk: Don’t Give Up! Don’t give up pursuing your spiritual growth activities every day, because if you don’t give up, you will reap a harvest. The harvest will be your spiritual growth.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Try this: before you go to bed tonight, pick a spiritual growth activity you want to pursue tomorrow. Do you have it in your mind?

Now along with that activity pick a time to practice it and a place to practice it in.

Then write the activity, the time, and the place in your calendar (I use Google Calendar).

You will be amazed how this practice of writing down your spiritual growth activity the day before, along with the time and place of practice, will make you more consistent. Try it…find out for yourself.

Remember spiritual growth is not complicated…it is instead difficult. Not because it is hard to understand…but because it requires perseverance.

But you can do it! And you will!

Email me and let me know how writing down your spiritual growth activity the day before is working out for you.