The Possibilities of Progress

During January we have been unpacking some gifts God gives us every new day. This line of thought was inspired by a nugget of wisdom Reverend Touré Roberts shared in a sermon. He shared these three gifts; provision, prudence and progress, and in this third and final part, I will explore the gift of progress.

We have already seen that our God takes great pleasure in providing anew for us each day. He first takes the time to intentionally prepare and supply for our needs; both physical and spiritual. Thereafter, God gives us the ability to govern and discipline ourselves by the use of reason which we find in His Word. The last Gift we are yet to unwrap is that of progress. What trinkets of promise does the gift of progress hold for us? Why is it so important for us to acknowledge this gift and walk in it every day?

Progress can be defined as ‘forward or onward movement towards a destination,’ or ‘development towards an improved or more advanced condition.’ I don’t know about you, but when I am working towards something and I don’t see progress, my motivational steam blows over very quickly and I’m left with frustration and sometimes even self-doubt. This can be said about work, family and even weight management goals. Sometimes even an assumed lack of progress in our spiritual development can leave us feeling less than motivated to persevere. I can see why the gift of progress is crucial to our daily success and I can also see that it may not come in the form or fashion that we think it should, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. After all, the element of faith must make its appearance on the scene.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

God never expects us to change before we come to Him, He accepts and loves us just as we are. In that love, as we spend more time with Him, He removes the stains of sin and shame from our lives, if we allow Him to, and in the process, we are transformed. His love never leaves us the way He found us. This is the beauty of transformation in Him, we are constantly changing and evolving, as He takes us from one degree of glory to the next.

Before we take a closer look at what God has for us in the gift of progress, I think it’s a good idea to first look at what possible roadblocks could be in our way, hindering us from fully taking hold of this precious gift from God.

Past failure. Failure makes us fearful of taking future action. When dissected properly, failure is a gift and has the potential to set us up for future success.

Excuses. These keep us from taking action too. Excuses keep us bound to our comfort zones where we are deceived into thinking we are safe when in fact we are imprisoned.

Procrastination. This wistful notion that we always have a ‘later’ robs us of taking action and obeying God now.

Lack of consistency. Yo-yo living can never yield the progress we seek after. If we stay consistent and pray for God to give us grace to not tire of doing good, we will reap progress.

I don’t know about you but I am guilty of all four of the above I could name a number more. Thankfully, taking ownership opens the door to an explosive partnership with God to destroy these roadblocks. Once we decide to stop being a lone ranger and acknowledge that we need our Heavenly Father, He takes pleasure in joining us on this adventure of life. A few things I have noted to be hidden away in His progress for us are;

Healing. I don’t believe that time heals all wounds, but I do believe that the healing work of God in our lives, is done over time. It’s a progression. Even the instant miracles of healing had to be celebrated, walked out and shared with others over time. God heals our hearts, minds and lives, over time. Each day, His work takes on a new form and this is part of His gift of progress to us.

Grace to obey. Obedience is directly linked to our progress. Obey the diet and exercise regimen and you may see progress in your weight management goals. Obey the doctor’s prescribed treatment and you may see progress in your health. Obey the marriage principles and you may experience the fruit of progress in your marriage. All these examples cannot be achieved consistently without grace from God. We are powerless to do this on our own, but the wonderful God we serve has promised to give us the grace both to will and do what pleases Him. Our progress in His will for our lives pleases Him.

Potential. One of the wonderful, beyond explanation, amazing gifts within the gift of progress is that God introduces us to our potential. When God made us, He loaded us up with potential for our future. When we seek His face and His will, He takes us by the hand and opens our eyes to our capacity for that future. He never does this all at once, it’s a day-by-day process. When we take hold of one facet, He begins to show us another. He never leaves us to figure this potential out on our own though, He works it, with us, until it comes to pass.

Forward movement. Back to the scripture from Second Corinthians, no matter how small a fraction of the progress we make in any given area of our lives, the fact remains, that with God there is always forward movement. Yes, sometimes God may take us back slightly for the steps forward to be permanent, but believe this, you are making progress. The enemy will tell you lies in efforts for you to disregard the action steps God may have given you for that particular situation, but hang on. Take note of the forward movement of any kind and celebrate it, removing any power the devil’s lies may have as you put him to shame with every step.

Forgiveness. Forgiveness and progress are attached at the hip. It may not always seem this way but think about it. What hinders us most from moving forward with our lives? I’d say that failure to receive forgiveness from God for ourselves, or failure to forgive others proves to be a doozy of a stumbling block as we walk out God’s progress for our lives. I think this is why our Lord Jesus touched on this in the daily model prayer when He taught saying, “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. (Matthew 6:12 NLT). On one hand, allowing the forgiveness of God to wash over our hearts allows us to run, uninhibited, into what He has in store for us. On the other hand, releasing those who have wronged us, keeps our hearts soft and sensitive, allowing us to hear quickly what the Lord whispers to us as we run. Forgive and be forgiven, and then, run full steam ahead.

I hope this little series has been beneficial to you. I pray that as this year becomes less and less new with each passing day, you will tuck into the possibilities that lie ahead. It’s never too late to start unwrapping these gifts from God. As you do, have fun, and shake that gift up in anticipation of what it looks and feels like. Experience the smile and laughter of God wash over you as you gleefully tear off the layers of wrapping paper. Indeed, each day is one He has made, may we rejoice and be glad in every single one of them.