Week 44 | GRIT

Did you know that researchers say that talent is not the biggest indicator of success? They say that GRIT is more important to success than talent. GRIT is the courage and strength to stick with something long enough to master it. 

Angela Duckworth is the world leader in studying GRIT. She says that talent is great, and talent definitely plays a HUGE role in success and excellence. Her definition of talent is the rate at which you increase your skills with effort. Some people can increase their skills faster than others, but the more talented people don’t always show up and they don’t always finish. It is like the quote, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

If you look at the stories of every great athlete, you will see stories of GRIT and perseverance. We see the finished product, but we don't see the blood, sweat, and tears that make the greats great.

The stories and details behind the success and excellence of people are like long movies and not short snapshots. Excellence is a long story filled with many acts of boring, deliberate practice and trial and error with a few, great, memorable moments sprinkled in between that hopefully make the work worth it. You might not want to see all of the scenes of the movies because in between the action are the boring details and hours of deliberate practice.

Steph Curry and his story of being an under-recruited high school basketball player, to a small college star, to a potential draft pick who many didn't think could make in the NBA, to a 2-two MVP and champion is a great story of GRIT. It is also a great story of how he stayed true to his faith and believed in himself and God's vision for him throughout the process.

Our stories might not end with us becoming NBA MVPs or professional athletes, but knowing about and understanding what GRIT is and how it can impact our lives can really help us.

Michael Godfrey wrote that there are 4 common characteristics of GRIT: courage, perseverance, resilience, and passion.

There are many examples of courage in sports and in the Bible. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is feeling fear and doing something anyway. It is taking a chance when others won't, having a vision, following your vision, and standing up for your beliefs. In Matthew 14:29-31, Peter was able to walk on water because of the faith and courage that he had in Jesus, but he also fell because of his lack of faith. Having GRIT means holding onto that faith and belief in yourself and God no matter what storms are going on around you.

Perseverance means to push towards a goal through all of the adversity and obstacles that get in the way. No one becomes great without failure and setbacks. GRIT and perseverance are the ability to keep going. Romans 5:4 says suffering produces perseverance, perseverance leads to character, and character leads to hope. When we go through something hard, it strengthens our character and strengthens our GRIT. It levels us up and makes us better people.

Resilience is our ability to recover quickly. 2nd Corinthians says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Stay strong and know that no matter what comes at you, you have the ability and the GRIT to bounce back.

Finally, passion creates excellence. When you have a passion for something, you will have the vision, the will, and the GRIT to go through what it takes for you to get what you want. I love Colossians 3:23-24. It says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Our passion is what we love to do, but it is also rooted in our love for God.

We all have GRIT. Every story of success is filled with GRIT. To become who we want to become, we have to have GRIT. There is a lot of doubt, evil and jealousy, in the world. Jesus said that in this world, we will have trials and tribulations. Look at what happened to Him! But He also came back so that we know that He has already conquered the world, and to show and tell us that He came so that we can have life, in abundance, until it overflows (John 10:10).

To have the life that He has promised, we must have GRIT.

This Week

1 - Meditate, think about, and focus on your GRIT. Create one or two goals that you want to accomplish, and stay GRITTY until you have gotten it done. If you can master small things, you will be trusted with big things (Luke 16:10). Start small, build your GRIT muscles and momentum, and watch more opportunities start to come to you.

Having and keeping a running checklist throughout the day and week can help you break down your goal into smaller chunks. A dream becomes a plan when it gets written down.

Pray Our Father. I pray for GRIT. I pray that I know that I have what it takes to accomplish my goals and to get things done despite the obstacles that come my way. When I lose focus or faith, please help me to regain it. In Jesus's name, I pray. Amen.

For a Google Doc version of this devotional, click here: Week 44 - Grit