Changing Gears

The other day I was talking with a good brother of mine and I think he said something very simple, but very profound: "is there any progress at all?"

I had been somewhat complaining to him about how deep I feel the depths of sin in my heart and mind are, that even now it sometimes feels like there's nothing but wrong on my mind. But he asked if there was any progress. He admitted it wasn't something that was easily quantifiable and is more of a long term process, but further clarified:

"Have I grown to be / walk more like Christ since last year, even since last month if you can see the difference?
Am i drawing towards God more?

Am i yearning for Him and his word more?

Has He become more of what ultimately satisfies, the one we find joy and pleasure in over other things?

How have you seen God work in your life lately?

And it doesn't meant you're always right with God, sometimes you can feel lonely, but have you seen him transforming you?

What steps are you taking to combat this sin?

Have you just sat there and been content or are you aggressively fighting?

Is fighting this sin a priority in your life, where does it stand?"

"Have you seen progress?"

Sometimes, often, I want to skip to the ending where all the progress is done already. And I had been thinking about it lately as I've been biking. Whenever I come to a hill, my first response is to see it coming and pedal as fast as I can on the highest gear before I get to the hill and just use the momentum to keep pedaling at that speed and get to the top. For smaller hills this seems to work well, but for larger hills, it invariably does not work. Soon the hill makes it so you cannot even pedal, and you may have to walk the bike up the hill.

The idea of switching gears had always seemed kinda dumb to me.

When you switch to a lower gear you can't go as fast. If there is a hill, you'll spend more time on it barely moving. But when you switch to a lower gear it is easier to pedal uphill. Although you end up going a little slower, sometimes a lot slower, you are making progress! And at the top of the hill you will not have been so out of breath and wouldn't have had to walk to bike up the hill.

I live on a hill, so every time I bike I need to go up a hill. haha.

But in our lives with Christ, there will be hills, there will be mountains even. But by the Holy Spirit, even if it takes time and may be difficult, He can move mountains and bring everything to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. What He has started He will finish.

D.Fa