Over the past few winters I’ve been trying to learn how to snowboard. I’m not a young man or spring chicken anymore so this has been a challenging exercise. I’ve had to learn new movements and get my body to work in new ways. Most importantly time and again I’ve had to conquer my fear. Fear of crashing into the person in front of me. Fear of crashing into that tree over there. Fear of going too fast and crashing into a lift pylon. Fear of other skiers & boarders crashing into me because I don’t know what I’m doing. Fear of looking like a total idiot. Fear of doing this.

I’ve pounded the snow in frustration as I fell over again; as I got the turn wrong again; as I bottled the move out of fear. I knew what I wanted but I just couldn’t seem to do it. Aargh. I want to get there but here I am on my butt, tired & frustrated. Again. 

What I wanted was to just snowboard already. Without much work. To just be able to do it. I wanted to just skip the frustrating part. To avoid all the falling, all the getting up again, all the mistakes. In fact I wanted to skip the learning and growing entirely. The fun was in the being able to do it not in the not being able to do it part.

One of the downsides of living in a culture absent of apprenticeship and full of comfort is that we expect growth without friction. To be good without having to work at it. An endless search for an overflowing well of talent. No grit, no gumption, no graft. Without which we end up with no perseverance, no initiative and no craft.

Of course things like the encouragement of others helps, we get a boost from praise when it goes right. Or at least better than last time. It helps to have a vision in front of us of what growth, progress and success looks like.

In the journey of faith we often want God to transport us to the point of maturity already. Just give me boldness, wisdom, faith now. We’d prefer to skip the process of learning, growing & trusting and let it all come easy.

When we begin to understand our weakness and His greatness, our sinfulness and His holiness we begin to groan. I groan with the weight of my failings and my longings. I seem to be in my own way of taking hold of all the good things God has for me. Here I am, Lord, on my butt, tired & frustrated. Again. I’m groaning, help me God.

And He does. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. God has a plan to conform us to the image of His Son. The Spirit AND the Son intercede before the throne for us. We are not alone nor are we without a vision of what we’re aiming for. We’re aiming for Jesus. Though there are days when the process seems more laden with frustration than others, we trust that we are learning. Learning to endure, learning to persevere, learning to keep our eyes fixed on the goal. Learning to overcome our fears.

And there will come a day when all the hard work will pay off. I know, I know, salvation is by grace and sanctification is by grace too. Yet I am, and you should be, making an effort too. Press on. Straining forward.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

Philippians 3:12–17 (ESV)