C. S. Lewis said, “Excellence [in anything] cannot be had without experience and discipline, and therefore cannot be had by the very young.” Training must take place if we are to handle well the weightiness of our lives. This is not an exclusion of youth to any significant role in the transcendent story, but rather an invitation and permission to let God train you through a variety of experiences and relationships. As the older Zorro said to the developing Zorro regarding his desire to take on his enemy and fulfill what he thought was his destiny, “You would have fought bravely, but died quickly.” Too many young men and women have been encouraged, urged, even coerced into activities that others saw they had ability or desire for—only to fail to some degree. What’s left in these situations is usually some variation on the themes of reluctance, self-doubt, fear, or shame.
In Exodus 23:29–30, God is telling Moses that He will take him into the place He has prepared for him. But in this journey, God will not clear out all the adversaries, enemies, hindrances, and old inhabitants. God says, “Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” (v. 30). The journey must be taken if we are to increase enough to take full possession of the life and glory we have been given. It is not solely an issue of character development, but also the ability to fight spiritual opposition. The overlooked but crucial truth is that we will have to fight for every square inch of our calling. It is important that we not mistake the process of “increasing” (2 Cor. 3:18; Ex. 23:30) and “strengthening” (2 Chron. 16:9) as God’s discipline, abandonment, a loss of time, or a lack of direction. It is quite the opposite. Take this process as an indication of the significance and enormity of your life and role.
