Most of us don’t like change. We do everything in our power to avoid it. We want improvement but we don’t like to pay the price that goes with it. We’ll hear a good sermon, or get excited when we hear God's voice, but we won't go any further. Because even getting psyched up and energised can be tiring: it makes us realise we have work to do. But, you’ll never become who God intends you to be by staying stuck where you are. Even though God would delight in you just as much if you never grew at all, He has so much more for you. Will you step into it? You won’t be able to if you just want to sit around all day. It’s not enough to want change, or be open to it: you have to run after it. Take a look at today’s full verse: ‘Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ (NIV). This is about learning to push back with faith when life pushes hard on you, and keep going. Why? Because God’s inviting you to become ‘mature and complete’, and the way there is persevering through tough situations with faith. Like we said yesterday, God’s committed to ‘forming Christ’ in you, so in the big picture, this is His work. But the day-to-day work is yours to do. God’s asking ‘how much are you willing to do to step into what I have for you? How available will you be to take the change I’m offering you?’

What now?

Think about the life of faith you could live with God. Ask yourself, seriously, ‘how much do I care about getting this?’