Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1
When I first began working out at my gym several years ago, there were people there doing things that I couldn’t imagine doing. I wanted to do what they could do, but from where I was at the time, it seemed impossible. How did you get there? How do I do that? The answer is that it takes deep commitment and a lot of hard work. I’ll never learn to do those things if I just sit back and wait for them to happen. If I want growth, I must work on it every day – for a long time.
I had a similar experience when I first sought recovery. I saw those who had five or ten years of sobriety and I desperately wanted it. Because I’d spent the previous ten or fifteen years trying – and failing – to quit, I couldn’t imagine being successful for that long. I want what you have. How do I get there? I was told that I had to earnestly seek recovery, working at it one day at a time – for a long time.
Today’s passage tells us that we’re supposed to have this same kind of intense desire and commitment to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives so that we may perform God’s will. Paul didn’t tell us to sit back and wait for God to work in us. He said we’re supposed to be hungry for and to pursue change and growth. Daily, we must work on our relationship with him, growing in faith, obedience, and transformation.
A lot of us want to grow and change. We wish things were different. We may even want to do God’s will, but we just don’t have any idea how to go about it. We see others doing things that we think we could never do. How did you get there? That’s impossible for me.
How do you climb a mountain though? One step at a time. The important thing isn’t where we’re at on the journey, but that we’re purposefully and continually engaging in it. We don’t get where we want to go in life just by sitting back and waiting for something to happen. Paul said that if we desperately want a thing, we’ll commit to it, continually pursuing it. Success in spiritual growth is no different than any other area of life. It doesn’t happen accidentally. If we truly want it, we will pursue it every day – for the rest of our lives.