Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.  Psalm 25:5

"Challenge" is a devotional feature with a Biblical challenge for the day, that is written by Bob Foster of the Navigators, and hosted by Harold Hall on the radio. You may read or listen (Real Audio) to Challenge:

Success is never accomplished in a pair of seven league boots. Bob Foster reminds us, sudden and easy victories are the exception. No flash in the pan, overnight conquest, was the lot of the Israelites. It would all have to be steady, slow, sure, but solid prosperity. Here's how Deuteronomy 7:22 described it:

And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

The rock quarry becomes a pyramid, the forest oak becomes a ranch house, the cement becomes a Hoover Dam – a rock, a board, a yard of concrete – little-by-little!

Little-by-little, step-by-step, one-by-one, moment-by-moment, day-by-day, this is the royal road to anything worthwhile. One thing at a time, and all things in succession; that which grows slowly and surely will endure.

The children of Jacob moved westward across the Jordan river to their promised land. Jehovah had promised that, "it is all yours." Take it by frontal attack on Jericho, and then by a northern and southern campaign. It's your country, but you must possess it by occupation. God promised total obtainment -- but, not all at once. It was to be a mile-by-mile, acre-by-acre, hill-by-hill, sort-of advance. The dangerous animals of the fields and mountains would increase upon them until they were ready for occupancy of totality.

Little-by-little, this sort of living is rough on our pride, our security, and our settled prosperity. Immediacy is the cry of the human heart – I want it now!

How easy it is to get over extended. Our lifelines are stretched out way too far. We need patience of timing. The mighty oak that grows slowly but surely. The football team that grinds it out on the ground, little-by-little. The spoon- feeding of a little at a time that takes a baby and builds him eighteen years later into a man. The philosophy of the businessman that perseveres over the years – a penny saved is a penny earned.

But we don't want pennies. We want dollars! We don't want to grind it out to the goal line, we want the long bomb that brings a touchdown right now. Romans wasn't built in a day, it was little-by-little.

Are you attempting to build into your life a quit time with God? Start with five to ten minutes per day. Just a little - try a spoonful before you attempt a bottleful.

Would you seriously like to memorize Scripture? You'll never memorize one hundred verses until you memorize the first one. Little-by-little, building a witnessing pattern for Christ, fighting for victory on some besetting sin in your life – planning out a total conquest of your promised land, the strategy must be the same. Allow God to do it His way, little-by-little, and it won't be long until it is all yours. A holy life is made up of a succession of holy moments.

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