For years I was in awe of the “hard” Bible study at my church. They met for an hour longer than my class next door, and when I’d peek in as I walked by, they’d be poring over the Bible with highlighters and marking pens. I’d heard they even had hours of homework each week! They seemed to know so much about the Bible. I could never be like that, I thought. Where would I start?

Then our son Ross, learning about the world’s religions in a history class, came home with some questions I couldn’t answer: Were the Gospels close to eyewitness accounts or written many years later? Did Jesus ever really say He was God? I knew I had to dig deeper into God’s Word and find the answers to help Ross strengthen his faith. So I signed up for the hard Bible study, promising myself that I’d attend the first day and see if I could handle it.

That was four years ago. Since then I’ve come to know God much better. But I’ve also learned a simple plan for facing intimidating situations, one that’s worked for me whether it’s taking a hard class, sticking to an exercise regimen or giving up a bad habit:

Go. Make an effort to get started, even if it’s only a baby step.

Stay. Don’t quit that first day; stick with it, even if you can’t keep up.

Return. Keep going back and making one more try. Soon all those “just one more day” attempts pile up, and you’ve made a lot of progress.

Stay close by me, Lord, so that when I feel weak or my will begins to fail, Your gentle nudging helps me press on.