Are you Growing? Part 1
Submitted by Steve Clark
July 17, 2025
Pr 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
Let’s start with…
I. Desire
It took less than 10 seconds for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt to cover the one hundred meter distance in the Olympics to win the gold medal in London. That cemented his status as “the fastest man alive” as he won the gold medal once again. But the race was not won in those seconds. It was won in hours and hours of practice, workouts, weightlifting, special diet, and coaching.
The race was not won in the performance but in the preparation.
So here’s the question, is it your desire for something greater that causes you to sacrifice some things, even some good things, for the sake of things that are better? What are some things that Usain Bolt had to sacrifice for his desire to be the fastest man alive?
A. Time—He had to put in the time needed to get his body in shape.
B. He had to put down his own will—I’m sure there were days that he didn’t feel like going through his workouts, lifting, and the endless coaching.
C. Where was the race won? Again, it was not in the performance, but the preparation! As I was reading about this, it made me ask some questions of myself. Questions like: How much time am I putting into my Bible reading, prayer, and service for the Lord?
Question 2: How much of my will is stopping me from doing God’s will? Am I witnessing? Am I making sure that I’m in a church every time I can be and so on?
Question 3: Am I putting the time in the preparation to do God’s will? Am I not just reading His Word, but studying and applying it to my life?
You have to ask yourself—What are the desires of my heart? Is it a new bass boat? A better home, more money? Here’s a fact, when you get it, it’s not long and you will want more! And why?
Pr 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
So what do you do? The answer is simple, you have to change your desires. How do you change your desires? That will be next Thursday in part 2 of this devotional.
Reflection—Nothing will take the place of persistence.
