Making obvious progress | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: April 03, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 46

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” (1Tim 4:15NIV)

Those are Paul’s words of admonition to Timothy. And he says them to him to show him how to make obvious progress in life. You know that it is possible for someone to think they are making progress in life, when they are actually not making any serious progress at all. It is also possible for someone to think they are making progress in life, when those around them cannot see them making any progress. And if that is the case with us, then, we may not expect those around us to give us the kind of attention or respect that we deserve.

In any case, if we want those around us to give us the kind of attention and respect that we deserve, our progress in whatever we are doing in life must be obvious to them. And that is what Paul is saying to Timothy in our opening bible text. He is telling him that if he wants to be taken seriously and also given the kind of respect that he deserves as a preacher and leader of God’s people, then, his progress must be obvious to all the people around him.

In other words, those who know Timothy and those around him must see that he is daily getting better in the way he lives, talks, behaves and handles his ministry. They must see that he is not stagnant in his walk with God and in handing the work that He has given to him. So, this is not about what he is saying to people concerning his progress; rather, it is about what everyone can see in his life.

How, then, will that happen? Well, as Paul points out, Timothy will need to diligently give himself to biblical instructions and their application. Once he is consistent and persistent in doing that, he will naturally begin to make obvious progress, a kind that everyone around him can testify to.

In like manner, if you want to make obvious progress in your spiritual walk as a child of God and in your ministry, you too must diligently give yourself to biblical instructions and their application. There is no other way. There are no shortcuts. So, if you won’t be diligent and earnest in giving yourself to these things, you won’t make any tangible or obvious spiritual progress. And even if you fake your progress, something that a lot of people are doing today, a day is coming when it will become clear to everyone around you that you have been nothing but stagnant all along.

Mind you, the principle Paul shares here with Timothy is not applicable to making obvious spiritual progress alone; it is also applicable to making obvious progress in every area of life. In other words, if we want to make obvious progress in our business or in our academics, what we need is to diligently and wholeheartedly give ourselves to doing the right things, things that will result in progress. We cannot afford to be slothful or lazy. We cannot afford to be taking half-measures. Otherwise, even if we make any progress, it won’t earn us the attention or respect of serious-minded people.

Remember that Solomon says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” (Prov 22:29KJV) And he says this because, as a very wise man, he has learnt from experience that anything we diligently, carefully and attentively give ourselves to handling can only produce results that will sooner or later get people’s attention and respect. So, if we want to get out of the rot of stagnation in our business, trade or academics, we must begin to apply diligence in handling it.

Now, of course, unless God makes us progress in our life, no measure of diligence will achieve obvious progress for us. So, don’t rely on your diligence for obvious progress in your spiritual walk or in other matters of life. Instead, rely solely on God. And He will honour your diligence and every other step of faith that you take towards accomplishing excellence in life.

Cheers!

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