Training Vs. Trying

Trish Lake

As I think about fresh perspectives and new beginnings at the start of this new decade, it brings to remembrance all of the excitement of fresh starts and new beginnings of the past. I also remember how quickly my excitement fizzled out and how I quit almost as soon as I began. I realize that each time I give up on myself and throw in the towel, I lose a little more hope that I will ever change. Will I ever experience the transformation that my Father has promised me? Must I wait for heaven to know what that feels like?

I don’t think so. I know I won’t be perfect on this side of heaven, but I believe with all of my heart that I was born to be an overcomer. I believe that the Father desires to set me free from the selfishness, pride, and undisciplined habits that sometimes overwhelm my life—before heaven.

John Ortberg says,

“Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely… You must arrange your life around certain practices that will enable you to do what you cannot do now by willpower alone.”

Willpower is a limited resource. Progress is not linear. There are and will continue to be many ups and downs in my discipleship training. Understanding this allows me to continually pick myself back up, wipe the disappointment off my face, and persevere in my training. It allows me to lean into the grace that is already mine. It requires humility that is only possible because I know that I am a daughter of the KING. It requires unhurried awareness. And most of all, it requires a passion that continually burns inside of me; never letting me lose that desire to grow as a learner of my Jesus.

“Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:30-31