Have you ever known some people who have great ideas and passions for doing great things for God, but never seem to quite accomplish their goals? Maybe they have surrendered to the ministry at youth camp every year for the past three or perhaps they continue to talk about how they are going to go and serve on an international mission trip “one day.” Maybe the person struggling with commitment is you?
Since all truth is God’s truth, I benefit from reading widely and learning what God has to teach me through others. Recently I learned from a book called GRIT by Angela Duckworth. She has studied willpower and success for years and through her studies she has learned that highly successful people have a kind of “ferocious determination” that plays out in two ways. “First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction.” Through the course of her book, she parses this statement out further and shows how a hardened determination that she calls “grit” is one of the most determinative factors in predicting success and perseverance.
Often Christians can over spiritualize certain aspects of their calling and ministry. We can get lost in emotions and excitement and forget that serving the Lord and others is hard work and it requires both determination and direction. God’s word gives us our direction, but God also calls on us to develop determination. We need to have some grit about us if we are going to accomplish the mission and purpose of God in our world.
I once heard an NFL player described as a “lunch pail guy.” His coach said that he just showed up everyday with his lunch pail and went to work. He wasn’t flashy, he just kept on working. He was always there. He was gritty. We need a gritty faith. The kind that drives us to show up every day and go to work.
Passion comes cheap, but passion will only carry you so far. You need willpower and determination to move forward. You need discipline and drive. As you seek the Lord in your prayers and devotion, work hard to fulfill the vision that he has given you. Do hard things for God, he has done hard things for you.
