By: Steve Wilmot
We are a have-it-now kind of people. Microwave ovens and fast-food drive-throughs so we can eat faster. Credit cards so we can buy what we want without waiting until we can save up enough to buy with cash.
Cell phones and internet so we can communicate at a moment’s notice and keep up to date with what is happening in the world around us.
There is nothing wrong with any of these shortcut conveniences, but it’s a mistake if we expect spiritual growth to be fast, too.
It isn’t. Never has been. Never will be. Never was meant to be. Overcoming bad habits takes time. Developing character takes time. Maturing takes time. Becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus takes time.
When we take an honest look at what it really means to be a follower of Jesus, it’s easy to get discouraged. We are tempted to throw our hands in the air and say, “What’s the use in trying? I’ll never make it.”
Rather than focusing on how far we still have to go, we should ask the question: What direction am I heading? Am I moving toward becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus?
You can focus on how far you still need to go and feel condemned and give up. Or you can look at how far you’ve come and be encouraged that you are getting closer to your goal.
Consider the Twelve disciples. How long did it take them to become completely committed followers of Jesus? And they even had the advantage of seeing Jesus and hearing him talk.
Even so, it didn’t happen when they decided to forsake all and follow Jesus. It didn’t happen overnight. It took time. They took a few steps forward and then a few back repeatedly.
Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Moments later, he resisted Jesus’ stated plan. A great insight followed by a step backward.
Peter exhibited courageous faith when he stepped out of the boat and walked on water at Jesus’ invitation. Then he let his faith sink and his body immediately followed. A great step of faith followed by giving in to fear.
When Jesus invited his disciples to share the Passover meal with him on the night he was betrayed by Judas, he told them they would all deny him in the coming hours.
Peter boldly proclaimed that even if the rest of them did, he would not. Yet hours later, he did. A great intention followed by a moment of weakness.
When Jesus died and was buried, the disciples almost quit. They were disillusioned. They began to doubt what Jesus said was true. After all, he was dead and gone. Some of them, like Peter, went back to their old jobs thinking it was over.
Yet despite all their failures and setbacks, they stayed with Jesus. They continued to follow him no matter how imperfectly.
They knew the only way they could mature into genuine followers was to stick with Jesus and not be discouraged by their failures.
It will be the same with us. Only as we pick ourselves up after a setback and continue to follow Jesus will we ever attain our goal of becoming his completely committed followers.
It’s like deciding to take a sailboat across a lake. As you start out, a strong wind blows you off course. You can give up and let the wind blow you wherever it wants, or you can make a course correction that will get you back on the path to the other side of the lake.
We make the decision to become completely committed followers of Jesus — to die to self and live for him.
But from the moment we choose to follow Jesus, there are occasions when we get blown off course. We can either give up our goal of following Jesus, or we can adjust and keep following.
The good news is that we are not left to our own resources and strength to get it done. Paul writes in Philippians 1.6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Three truths to notice here. One, God is going to complete the work he started in you. He promised, and he never breaks a promise. He’ll make you into a devoted Christian if you don’t quit.
Two, it’s a journey that will take the rest of your life. It won’t happen overnight or all at once. You follow Jesus daily, give him the best you have, and he’ll take care of the rest.
Three, you can jettison fear, worry and discouragement in the long journey fraught with setback after setback. Why? Because you can continue to follow Jesus daily “being confident” God will finish what he started in you.
May your journey end as Paul’s did, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4.7).
There’s no reason it can’t.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.