I have a guitar that hangs on the wall of my living room. It was a gift from my husband a few years ago and I love it. It’s just a shame that I don’t know how to play it.

For years I had yearned to pick up the guitar again. I had been a novice in high school and dreamt of early morning private worship. Having received the beautiful stringed instrument, the first few months I practiced almost every day, developing some respectable callouses on the tips of my fingers and managing to enjoy a few intimate hymn times with Him.

And then we went on vacation. A week later we returned home and I struggled to trim back my beautifully grown nails. I compromised, keeping them a tad bit longer than what I should have.

The next week, I skipped trimming them, just filing them enough to give them shape before applying a coat of clear polish.

A few weeks later I found the guitar frustrating and no longer took it off the wall at all.

Compromise. It kills us every time. It’s hard to give up something we like that’s easy (like pretty nails) to obtain something that takes blisters and hard work (like learning the guitar).

It’s harmless enough in this instance. It’s not like I was called to be a worship leader. Trust me, this may have been an answer to prayer for my poor family…the dog included. But I think there’s a deeper lesson here.

In life, there are things that are easy and comfortable (like watching TV every night) but also an alternative that is better but takes discipline (like spending quality time in the Word). We desire change in our life, we want to be strong and see growth and leadership in ourselves, but we cling to our old ways. We will only see growth when we’re willing to cut back on some things that are not doing us any good. Get the clippers and prune your life. Good things will sprout when you do.

Digging Deeper: Is there something in your life that is easy to do that is holding you back from focusing and doing the hard thing that is God’s will for your life ? What is keeping you from pursuing God’s plan? Pray and ask God to give you what you need to fulfill His plans for you.

Additional Resources

The Blueprint for Life eight week study is designed to help you discover the incredible life you were born to live.  The study contains a workbook and ten audio messages featuring Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, Tony Evans, John Maxwell and others. Now available for digital download.  Click here to check it out!