“Osmosis & Inertia” is October 30’s entry from Dr. David Jeremiah’s ‘Turning Points with God: 365 Daily Devotions’ (2014).
"I press toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:14
Consider a couple of concepts from the world of science: osmosis is the gradual transfer of fluid from one side of a membrane to the other until there are equal amounts on both sides. Inertia is the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest, to resist acceleration, to remain in the same line of movement unless acted on by a stronger force.
In layman’s terms, osmosis is the gradual, unconscious, hit-or-miss process of absorption–like learning to speak French by living in France for twenty years. Inertia is resistance to movement or change–like preferring the status quo.
Spiritually speaking, too many people try to grow spiritually through osmosis without overcoming inertia. Over a lifetime you might grow a little spiritually by attending church services on Sunday–assuming you overcome inertia by getting out of bed. But true spiritual growth only happens intentionally–by planning and moving. If you don’t make a conscious effort to grow spiritually, the likelihood is that you won’t. But you can grow spiritually if you will set goals in important areas and then achieve them.
No one grows spiritually by osmosis or without overcoming the resistance to change.
To end, a quote from Unknown, “You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.”
