“He trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.” – Psalm 18:34

There is a story of a father and young son who went to a boxing match. Before the match, one of the fighters kneeled and prayed and crossed himself. The son asked, “Will that help him, Dad?” The father replied, “If he can take a punch.”

What the father was saying to his son was that many of the things that God calls us to requires more than just faith, more than just prayer, and more than just positive feelings about what we feel God is calling us to. Though our salvation is bought by Christ alone through the shedding of His blood, the life we are called to live as Christians requires sweat, toil, and discipline.

Many in the Christian faith mishandle the truth in God’s Word concerning His plan for us. They interpret, “I can do all things through Him who give me strength” (Phil 4:13) to mean “whatever dreams or desires I have will be fulfilled merely by having faith.” They see God as a mystical genie, at our beck and call, waiting not to just bless us but to make all our dreams come true.

God has certainly given us gifts and He desires that we use them for His glory. (1 Pet 4:10) But, we are stewards of those gifts, and we must develop them.

Psychologist Malcolm Gladwell found in his book Outliers: Stories of Success, that to be a successful classical musician, you need to put in about 10,000 hours of practice. It is not just the gift God placed inside of us that counts. It’s our diligence in honing and crafting that gift that makes the difference. We are all called to be workmen approved. And that means hard work! The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

If God has called you to something, it is worth the time, sweat, and effort to fulfill that calling.

It might help to think of it like this. He has placed precious gemstones in each of us. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Gifts He has given us to edify the body and bless the world. But to get those precious stones out, you must dig deep. It is challenging work and requires sweat. And once you find those stones, you must chip away at them and polish them so that they can bless others. God made the priceless diamond. And it still exists inside the mountain even if no one digs it out. But if it is to be shared with others to bless them, it will take a lot of work.

David trained for battle. He trusted God, prayed for success, but put in the discipline to become a well-trained warrior. God is calling us to a life of discipline - one where we hear His call, respond in faith, and put that faith into the hard work of disciplined action.

Questions for Thought

1. What is an area that you feel God has called you to?

2. What stands in the way of you pursuing it?

3. What concrete steps can you take to develop that gift?