I’m a part of an amazing ministry that has one of the best choirs and music in the world. So, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve always been a terrible singer. I did not grow up singing… anytime my family attempted to sing we would end up laughing at how bad we sounded. You know the feeling you get when you think about sky diving? That’s the feeling I get when I try to sing.
A few years ago I started taking voice lessons. “Singing will be a joy in my life not an intimidation,” I decided. My voice teacher, Sarah Grandpre, has me practice small techniques over and over and over to break old habits and train new ones. Some techniques are so small they seem silly to practice but they are important. Sarah once said, “Practicing a technique over and over again is like creating a new hiking path. The more you walk back and forth on it, the more permanent and clear the path becomes.”
A healthy, healed, and whole life is the same. It’s true God does instant miracles sometimes but mostly God does miracles through very small steps over a long period of time. Most of creation operates in this way. Once Haven decided to plant the seeds from her apple in the backyard. The next day she ran out to see how her apple tree would look. She came inside dismayed because for some reason nothing happened. If we dug up one of her seeds cut it open and looked at it with a microscope we might see a molecular level of change within that seed. Tiny steps over a long period of time create change.
With God, you have the power to change ANY area of your life no matter how big, as long as you are willing to start small and keep going.
Awhile back I was praying God would speak to me about my son, Cohen, who has developmental delays due to seizures. Every time I pray for him I have a peace he’s going to be okay. But day-to-day I often feel discouraged because he’s not catching up developmentally. “God, what do you want me to do! I’m lost here,” I thought to myself. My thoughts were interrupted with an audio book to which I was suppose to be listening, “You must have the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your reality while also having absolute faith you will prevail in the end.” I instantly knew this Stockdale Paradox was wisdom God wanted me to hear in that moment. And it’s made a difference in Cohen and my life.
Sometimes in our effort to have faith we don’t accept our current reality, but faith without works is dead! We need to be people who know, with God’s help, we will 100% prevail in the end but also disciplined to look at our brutal reality and act accordingly. Understanding this wisdom is powerful. With God’s help it gives you the power to change ANY area of your life. You, child of God, can be healthy, healed, and whole.
