I have a dream that seems to be taking forever to come to reality. Every time I think we are nearly there, a door closes, an event does not happen, or I am let down etc. It really rattles my faith. I have to do real faith work: remembering the path I have walked so far and the convictions that have brought me to where I am.
We previously spoke about being Consistently Counted On, being so consistent in who you are and what you say, that people around you know that they can trust you and count on you. But being consistent is also a certain kind of “Keep-On-It-Ness.” Matt 7:7-8 (AMP) makes an interesting point to me (I have left some words out for emphasis).
Keep on…asking…keep on seeking…keep on knocking…Everyone who keeps on….keeps on…keeps on…the door will be opened.
It seems that consistency is also doing what you need to do everyday to get to where you want to be.
It is developing a consistency in person, in integrity, in obedience, in faith.
In Joshua 6:2-5 the Israelites are waiting outside Jericho for instructions. They are told that Jericho had (past tense) been given to them. For now, they had to march around the city for six days and then on the seventh day to march around seven times before the long blast of the trumpet. They had to do the same thing, thirteen times before the walls of Jericho broke.
How would you like to do the same thing, thirteen times? They first had to learn consistent obedience before they ever saw God’s power released to give them their victory. This consistent obedience was required as the foundation for their faith. While they walked each day, doing the same thing as yesterday, they had to work on their doubt, their fear, their belief in their miraculous God. They had to revisit God’s promise in their minds that the city “had” already been given to them.
When their faith was finally released at the long blast of the trumpet, it was all based on a consistent daily obedience. Sometimes we question the vision or dream we have been given while we are still learning consistent obedience. We step out of what has been promised to us because the effort of consistent obedience is too much.
Imagine if the Israelites had marched one day, then rested because they were stiff. Then marched another day, but skipped a few days because they didn’t feel like it, or were not in the mood. Then marched again, but only went half way, then had a picnic and never ever finished. Or decided not to march today because they hadn’t done it right all week, so what was the point.
Consistent obedience is a skill that needs to be developed in the day to day grind, while we build our faith. While we build our strength so that when the day comes for our faith to spring into action, God can move.
Consistency opens doors of opportunity. We knock once, then assume the door is closed. We knock and then turn away when the door is locked. We have to keep knocking, knocking reverently, but knocking.- Consistency makes an enormous project more achievable as we break it into smaller parts and consistently make progress. Eg. Losing 20 kilo is more achievable if we break it into 5kg goals. In fact, whatever we don’t do consistently will be something we never conquer, overcome or make progress in.
- Consistency shapes who we are. Our character is molded by what we do every day. “It is not what we do every now and then that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently” – Anthony Robbins.
- Consistency sees a vision or dream come about. Anything of significance can only be built with consistency, a Keep-On-It-Ness. When we apply it to our lives, things start to make sense.
What are you consistently doing in your life, that will have a positive impact on your life in the future?- What are you consistently doing that is having a negative impact on your life?
- What could you consistently do which would bring about a breakthrough in the future?
Father, help me to “keep on.” To keep believing, keep working, keep progressing. To be consistent in doing what I need to do every day, one day at a time, repeated again and again. Help me Lord to be obedient, to match my obedience to my faith and prepare for the final day when I will see the dreams you have given me, come to fulfillment.
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