3 Reasons to Look for the “Drip” Instead of the “Splash” When It Comes to Discipleship
By Michael Kelley
Imagine a leaky faucet. Regardless of how you hard you twist the knob, it still drips. One drop at a time. Incessantly – drip, drip, drip. The consistency becomes an annoyance pretty quickly. But put in the right environment and given enough time, that same dripping with that same consistency, can have an immense amount of power.
That’s how canyons are made. Not all at once, but through the power of consistency.
Dripping isn’t that exciting; cannonballs are. Dripping barely makes a ripple but a cannonball makes a splash. But what dripping lacks in flash it makes up for in effectiveness. The Bible recognizes this reality. Think about a few different New Testament exhortations:
But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Tim. 4:7-8).
Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1 Cor. 9:27).
So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude (Col. 2:6-7).
Training. Discipling. Growing. These aren’t fast, splashy things. They take time and intentionality. That, in and of itself, is one of the difficult parts of discipleship. There will be many days when you won’t feel like reading the Bible. Or praying. Or memorizing Scripture or serving or doing any of the other practices of spiritual development. Consequently, we might be tempted to reframe or describe spiritual growth as some grand adventure completely free of drudgery. While it’s true that at times growing in Christ will feel like that, it’s also true that many times it won’t.
In the end, what we’ll find is the drip of consistency wins over the splash of excitement time and time again. And here are a few reasons why:
1. Consistency emphasizes faith over experience.
What makes someone get up and do the same thing day after day after day regardless of whether they feel like it or not? You could argue that it’s simply being a creature of habit, but you could also say that such action is driven forward by faith.
You do the same spiritual practices because you genuinely believe that the Bible is the Word of God. You truly believe God hears you when you pray. The alternative to this kind of consistency is a life driven by experience. If that’s the case, your spiritual development is like a yo-yo moving up and down with the flippancy of emotion.
2. Consistency causes roots to grow deep.
When you opt for consistency over excitement, you are developing the kind of practices that will carry you through the seasons of spiritual dryness all of us will encounter. In other words, your roots are growing deep.
When we integrate the same, repeated practices into our lives, day after day, we will find that when eventually we don’t feel anything; when we are suffering; when we simply can’t pray any more, that our roots will have extended well past the shallows.
3. Consistency works into other areas of life.
One of the side benefits of this kind of spiritual discipline is that it will work into other areas of life as well. You’ll find, I believe, that not only are you disciplined “spiritually;” but physically, emotionally and mentally. But then again, that’s why “spiritually” is in quotes because I seem to remember Jesus saying that we should love God not only spiritually but with every part of ourselves.
Time is a powerful ally. Drip, drip, drip. One drop at a time. And slowly, the landscape changes.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.
