By Sarah-Kate Duran
You know that old saying that says, “Practice makes perfect.” Although I understand the sentiment, it doesn’t really ring true if you think about it. You could practice your golf swing incorrectly repeatedly and it’s still going to be ineffective in making it on the green. Now “Perfect practice makes perfect” could be true. But what I find the most inspiring is “Practice makes progress.” Whether your progress is a yard or an inch — distance is distance. One step closer is one step closer. Consistency is the key. Ecclesiastes 9:10 tells us that whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. That means we are not to be lazy. We are to be consistent, hardworking, giving it all we got! Then, in verse 11 it tells us the race is not to the swift. There is merit in just sticking to it. You don’t even have to do it crazy intense, just be consistent. Remember everyone’s favorite character from Finding Nemo — Dory? Just keep swimming. You don’t stop. You just keep swimming.
1 Corinthians 15:58 commands us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Daniel was a man of God that was taken into captivity in Babylon about 600 BC. He impressed the king with his wisdom and excellency and became a commissioner or governor of the king. Vindictive fellow commissioners of the king had it out for Daniel. So, they influenced the king to make a law that forbade anyone to pray to anyone but the king. To make a long story short — Daniel refused. He didn’t comply. He remained consistent and prayed three times a day out in the open at his room window. Daniel 6:10 says, “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house…and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”
Galatians 6:9 encourages us to not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. Don’t grow weary in doing good! Stay consistent! That’s where you get your win! That’s where you prosper! There was an experiment done with people stuck in traffic; they timed the drivers who would weave in and out, trying to constantly get ahead and the drivers who chose a lane and stuck with it until their exit and destination. Wouldn’t you know it that the drivers who stayed consistently in the same lane arrived sooner than those who were trying to trick the system and get ahead? Be encouraged that even though you feel like you’re behind, as long as you are staying consistent, you are in the right place.
“And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:4
Just keep swimming.
