I’ve always liked the story of the tortoise and the hare, probably because I’ve never been a very fast runner.  I was (past tense due to worn out knees) a plodder–just like the tortoise.  So, I find great satisfaction that it is the tortoise and not the hare who is victorious in the fable.  Plodders unite!

The tortoise has a lot to teach us about spiritual formation.  Specifically, that lasting spiritual growth is a sloooow, methodical, continuous process.  It is telling that in Genesis it says of two heroes of the faith:

Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22, ESV)

Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9, ESV)

Walking involves slow, methodical, continuous progress.  And when you walk with someone it tends to be more about the companionship than it is about the destination.  Walking is God’s way.

So, if you are discouraged at the beginning of 2017 that you are not a spiritual hare, take heart that it is the tortoise who wins the race.  Keep walking.  And most of all, enjoy the company of the God with whom you are walking.