Day 24 - Growth Without Resistance?

"The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within that endangers him, not the storm without." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was reading The Complete Sermons of Ralph Waldo Emerson this morning and came across the quote above. It made me think of body building. (LOL ... Stick with me on this ... my mind works in mysterious ways ;-)

I believe that many times, the obstacles, challenges and "dangers" we face are sent (or at least allowed) by God because they strengthen and grow us. They make us into the person that we need to become in order to achieve the goal or gain the blessing that we have prayed for or set our intentions on.


Legitimate danger aside, to pray for the removal of the obstacles and challenges then, can often be counterproductive. Much like a body builder who sets his or her goals to have a certain size muscle or to be able to lift a certain amount of weight, but doesn't want to encounter any resistance or challenge to achieve it. That simply doesn't work.


Now I'm not suggesting that the achievement of all goals has to be difficult or challenging... just as normal growth in nature occurs through proper nutrition, removal of negative influences and the passage of time.


But, I've never seen a bodybuilder who naturally just grew that way. No, they purposed themselves for it and they overcame the challenges and obstacles (skepticism, sickness, tiredness, soreness and even injuries) to achieve their goals.


So, if you and I want anything more than average growth ... if we want to develop spiritually, personally, professionally or physically beyond the norm, perhaps we should anticipate that there will be 'dangers' and challenges along the way. And, instead of praying that they be removed, we should pray for the courage and strength to move forward despite the storms and to learn and grow as much as we can through each experience so we don't have to repeat the lesson.


What do YOU think? Did that make any sense or have I just not had enough coffee this morning?

About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.