To grow, you must dedicate yourself to the process. Whether it’s in your career, your marriage, your ministry, or your walk with God, once you dedicate yourself to growth and development and a lifestyle of planned improvement, it becomes normal to you. And you realise when you’re not making progress. Something is missing! It’s been reputed that the Polish American classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein refused to listen to recordings of his playing. Even only a few months afterwards, he was unhappy with what he heard. Why? Because he had changed and improved – but his recordings had not. Stop and think about the non-negotiables in your life. What are you willing to live and die for? Write down what you want to hold on to at any cost, and fully explain why. After you have done that, everything else should be open to change. Here is how Paul prayed for the Christians in the Colossian church: ‘We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light’ (vv. 9-12 NLT).
