Hit the Waits
Hit the Waits
Anyone who has ever looked at me can clearly tell… I don’t workout much. In the last year or so I’ve been getting a lot better and a lot more consistent, but I still have a long way to go. One thing I’ve learned is that consistency is key. I’ve learned that it takes three months before you begin to see signs of change and growth. That’s twelve weeks before change and growth. If you work out for an hour a day, six days a week, that’s 72 hours of work before a shred of success might be seen.
I’ve also learned comparison is a killer. Comparison is the great enemy of consistency. Comparison kills consistency because it can make you look at people who are further ahead than you are, and makes you doubt the growth you’ve made and give up on possible future gains.
Another thing I’ve learned is that compromise is also a killer. Compromise is a thief of growth. Compromise tells you that things are “good enough.” And in my limited experience, “good enough” is rarely that - it’s rarely good or enough. Compromise will get you to settle on your goals, and that will make you settle on your growth.
I’ve learned that consistency is a key. It’s not just that consistency is key like an important point or system or method. Consistency is A key. Keys unlock doors and give access to places. Keys are answers to problems.
Another way of saying the same thing is that repetition is the key to success. In reality, repetition is the only key to success. If you do something enough times, eventually you will get good at it. Good or really good. Everyone has their limits and limitations, but consistency is what helps to overcome what we think are limitations.
So why aren’t we all more consistent in our lives? More consistent in the things we deem important? Everyone has to answer that for themselves, but I think a major factor in current culture is distractions. We have so many things that are vying for our time and attention. And I’ve found that my time follows my attention. Anywhere I put my attention, that’s where my time goes. Which is a double-edged sword… where I put my time can be great and beneficial; but it can also become a thief.
In a culture of instant everything, it is really easy to apply our inability to delay gratification to our spiritual life as well. If patience is a virtue then waiting is massively implied. And the secret with patience isn’t in how long you wait, but how you wait. Like waiting for muscle gains or fat losses from workouts.
God is an instant God when He chooses to be. He’s God. He’s allowed to do whatever He wants. Miracles are an example of how instant He can work. But I don’t think He always works like this. In fact, I think most of the time He doesn’t. Because there’s just something in the waiting that you can’t get with the instant. Like food. Microwave meals may be great, but the really good stuff takes some time to prepare.
And isn’t that what faith is? Trusting in God that He knows better for me than I know for me? Which comes with a time element, by the way. God in control isn’t just with the what, but it’s also with the when and the how and the where.
We build spiritual strength by our faith in God. And we build our faith in God not only with obedience, but with how we wait. And how you wait is much more important than how long you wait. Just ask the Israelites that wandered the desert for forty years.
1 Corinthians 13 explains to us what love is - and what love isn’t. The first attribute of love is patience. When we love God we will have patience. We will apply patience. With others, but also with God, and what He’s cooking up for us (see what I did there?).
Patience is a condition more than an action. Patience is an attitude more than an action. Patience is an overflow from a heart full of love. But patience is also a process and a practice. Some people are born better at it than others. Some people need to develop and work at it more than others.
When it comes to waiting (for many things in our lives), it is important to remember that the condition of your wait is more important than the length of your wait. Instant things are rarely better than eventual things. And instant things are infinitely inferior to eternal things. And eternal things just take time.
If you want instant results from an eternal God, you may wind up very disappointed. So be consistent. Be patient. For it is there that the good growth happens in our lives.
Anyone who has ever looked at me can clearly tell… I don’t workout much. In the last year or so I’ve been getting a lot better and a lot more consistent, but I still have a long way to go. One thing I’ve learned is that consistency is key. I’ve learned that it takes three months before you begin to see signs of change and growth. That’s twelve weeks before change and growth. If you work out for an hour a day, six days a week, that’s 72 hours of work before a shred of success might be seen.
I’ve also learned comparison is a killer. Comparison is the great enemy of consistency. Comparison kills consistency because it can make you look at people who are further ahead than you are, and makes you doubt the growth you’ve made and give up on possible future gains.
Another thing I’ve learned is that compromise is also a killer. Compromise is a thief of growth. Compromise tells you that things are “good enough.” And in my limited experience, “good enough” is rarely that - it’s rarely good or enough. Compromise will get you to settle on your goals, and that will make you settle on your growth.
I’ve learned that consistency is a key. It’s not just that consistency is key like an important point or system or method. Consistency is A key. Keys unlock doors and give access to places. Keys are answers to problems.
Another way of saying the same thing is that repetition is the key to success. In reality, repetition is the only key to success. If you do something enough times, eventually you will get good at it. Good or really good. Everyone has their limits and limitations, but consistency is what helps to overcome what we think are limitations.
So why aren’t we all more consistent in our lives? More consistent in the things we deem important? Everyone has to answer that for themselves, but I think a major factor in current culture is distractions. We have so many things that are vying for our time and attention. And I’ve found that my time follows my attention. Anywhere I put my attention, that’s where my time goes. Which is a double-edged sword… where I put my time can be great and beneficial; but it can also become a thief.
In a culture of instant everything, it is really easy to apply our inability to delay gratification to our spiritual life as well. If patience is a virtue then waiting is massively implied. And the secret with patience isn’t in how long you wait, but how you wait. Like waiting for muscle gains or fat losses from workouts.
God is an instant God when He chooses to be. He’s God. He’s allowed to do whatever He wants. Miracles are an example of how instant He can work. But I don’t think He always works like this. In fact, I think most of the time He doesn’t. Because there’s just something in the waiting that you can’t get with the instant. Like food. Microwave meals may be great, but the really good stuff takes some time to prepare.
And isn’t that what faith is? Trusting in God that He knows better for me than I know for me? Which comes with a time element, by the way. God in control isn’t just with the what, but it’s also with the when and the how and the where.
We build spiritual strength by our faith in God. And we build our faith in God not only with obedience, but with how we wait. And how you wait is much more important than how long you wait. Just ask the Israelites that wandered the desert for forty years.
1 Corinthians 13 explains to us what love is - and what love isn’t. The first attribute of love is patience. When we love God we will have patience. We will apply patience. With others, but also with God, and what He’s cooking up for us (see what I did there?).
Patience is a condition more than an action. Patience is an attitude more than an action. Patience is an overflow from a heart full of love. But patience is also a process and a practice. Some people are born better at it than others. Some people need to develop and work at it more than others.
When it comes to waiting (for many things in our lives), it is important to remember that the condition of your wait is more important than the length of your wait. Instant things are rarely better than eventual things. And instant things are infinitely inferior to eternal things. And eternal things just take time.
If you want instant results from an eternal God, you may wind up very disappointed. So be consistent. Be patient. For it is there that the good growth happens in our lives.
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