Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)
You don’t get good at anything without repetition. “Practice makes perfect” gets thrown around a lot. However, God isn’t looking for perfection from His children… He’s not looking for perfection from you. However, He is looking for perseverance.
When I was a kid, my dad pushed me musically. As the son of a musician and singer, I was clearly destined to walk in his footsteps. He would take me to the church on Saturday night to practice the song I was singing on Sunday morning. As the church’s bassist and sound guy, he had access to the church anytime… so that meant we could stay as late as it took for me to sing my song correctly. He bought me my first guitar and insisted I take lessons. He was very direct and set high expectations. So much of the musician and singer I am today is because of my dad’s perseverance.
We live in a world today where we want to just make excuses for our shortcomings. “I’m just not good at that”. “That’s not who I am”. Often, the truth is we’re not good at something because we’ve spent very little time learning. We don’t put any practice time in. The truth is…. while my dad taught me to sing… I learned very little from all the guitar lessons he paid for. Why? I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t practice. As a senior in high school, I finally WANTED to learn how to play guitar. Guess what? My dad wouldn’t pay for lessons again. I had to learn on my own… Thank God for Youtube!
What are you practicing? How are you growing? How are you allowing God to stretch you? Not comfortable talking to people about God? Practice. Not good at studying the Bible? Practice. Want to get involved in serving but afraid you’re not good enough? Try it out.
Let’s shift our thinking from accepting what we’re “not good at” and allow God to shine through showing His strength in our weaknesses.