Challenge Yourself to Grow

About a week ago, I was sent a video of a woman who was 100 years old and could hold a plank for three minutes. That got me thinking, and on Monday I decided to challenge myself to work toward holding a plank for five minutes.

So I got into position, and within 10 seconds my body was shaking like crazy—but I held that plank for one whole minute! Each day this week, I have continued to hold it for one minute. Today, however, my body began shaking again at 10 seconds, and by 30 seconds I was ready to collapse. But I held on and made it to the one-minute mark.

This is a silly little goal I have set for myself, but it made me reflect on how easy it is to coast through life without really stretching ourselves in any area.

In 2 Peter we are told, “Keep growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah.” 2 Peter 3:18, CJB

I think Kefa is encouraging us to keep moving forward and look for ways to grow. When we are younger, learning and development are a natural part of life as we go through school and our bodies mature. But as we get older, we can settle into familiar patterns and stop pushing ourselves to do more.

So I began thinking about other ways I could stretch myself. I’m not afraid of technology and dabble in it quite a bit, so I’m regularly learning something new in that area. I’m grateful that I have a mind that can pick it up and comprehend most of it. But I want to grow in other areas, especially spiritually.

One step is to read more. I love to read, but I don’t regularly make time for it. I also want to improve my Hebrew reading and comprehension, so I’m going to set a goal in that area. Most importantly, I want to become more like my Messiah, considering what needs to change in my attitudes, habits, and daily walk with Him.

I want to encourage you to consider where you could take a step toward growth. Start small. After a couple of days, Michael encouraged me to add 10 seconds to my minute, but I said, “No, I’m going to stay with a minute for at least a week and then slowly increase it.” It might take me a few months to get up to two minutes, but I’m going to keep working toward that five-minute mark. And if sometimes I fall back, I’m not going to give up.

That’s called perseverance, and it’s what we need if we are really going to grow. The growing process does involve falling down and getting back up. A setback doesn’t have to be the end of our progress.

So here is my challenge to you today: Think of a couple of areas where you want to grow, and make one of them spiritual. Set a small, specific goal and begin working toward it. Keep at it, even when progress is slow. Growth happens as we keep taking those steps.