Nov
8
Relentless Forward Progress
Filed Under Devotional
We’ve all heard the story of the tortoise and the hare as children. The moral is that slow and steady wins the race. It’s amazing how widely that rule applies, but I’ve found a more manly description of this attitude (thanks to a co-worker of mine who runs marathons and ultra-marathons): relentless forward progress.
The key is not in the speed, but in the persistence. In long endeavors, you need to make time work for you. Don’t burn yourself out in a short time. Learn to keep up a regular pace, even if it’s quite slow, and time will multiply it into dramatic progress. This works with compound interest in your retirement account. This work when trying learn good habits. This works in almost any effort that can extend over time.
This is exactly the kind of walk with Christ we need to have. It’s not about how fast you mature as a Christian. It’s not about how rapidly you can read the Bible or memorize a chapter. If those bursts of speed are separated by moments of being at a standstill, it won’t average out.
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:36
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
Persevering does not mean just holding your ground. Notice that the verse says to “run with perseverance”. I doubt the author meant for you to run in place.
We’re all different and will move at different speeds. But, there’s no excuse for your walk to come to a stop. You should always be making relentless forward progress.