Todays video is all about seasons of growth.
Spiritual growth and emotional maturity are hot topics in the Christian world.
One of the problems surrounding it though, is that we have bought into the idea that growth is linear.
We believe we need to be constantly progressing
consistently growing
always moving forward.
Phrases like,
“I just strive to be better today than I was yesterday”
and
“If you’re not growing, you’re dying”
are well meaning in nature,
but when they become the way we see the world and the way we view ourselves as we strive to grow in maturity,
we reveal what we really think about God.
We say He loves us just as we are,
but in truth we believe that He wants us to be better.
But what if growth wasn’t linear?
What if the spiritual life and relationship with Jesus wasn’t about getting better or fighting for the finish?
What if life is meant to be lived in seasons?
Jesus refers to Himself as the vine and us the branches.
Well…anyone who knows anything about plants knows that in order for plants to grow, thrive, and produce,
they have to go through seasons.
All plants have seasons of growth, seasons of fruit (harvest), seasons of pruning, and seasons of rest.
In fact, any plant that is pushed to constantly grow and produce will eventually lose all ability to do so. Plants that never lie dormant rob the soil of their essential nutrients needed to grow and create worthwhile produce!
If they don’t rest, and even allow themselves to be pruned, they eventually die.
So if we put our spiritual growth on a chart, when you look at where you are and where you want to be,
are you striving to move upward and onward?
Or are you allowing yourself to be wherever God has you today?
I have a feeling, that is exactly where He wants you.
I have a feeling, it is in this place that He is longing to show you His love, His will, and the exact lesson you are needing to walk through in order to become who you most long to be.
So, what part do we play?
What are we responsible for in the area of our own spiritual growth?
I will leave you with three things I believe we all must do in order to grow spiritually and emotionally:
1. Be Patient
Growth takes a lifetime.
It is not a one-time thing.
You don’t grow over the summer and stop in the winter.
You don’t grow up when you’re working hard and fall back when you rest.
All seasons of life point toward the you you are becoming, so let them have their way with you
and don’t try to hurry it along.
Growth takes a lifetime,
so practice patience,
and give it a lifetime
2. Have LOTS of Grace
Have grace for yourself when you feel like you are not in the season you want to be in.
Have grace for yourself if you feel like you should be “further along” than you are right now.
There is nothing you can do about that, but you can choose not to berate yourself for it, which would only lead to more complications as you seek to move forward.
Have grace for yourself when you feel you have made a mistake, taken a wrong turn, or missed an opportunity. God is not in a hurry, and as a popular quote going around has stated,
“When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity.”
Have grace for those around you.
You will inevitably be hurt, hindered, or even oppressed by others. It is the nature of humans to hurt one another in self protection.
Again, you cannot do anything about that.
But you can choose grace and move through those obstacles. Or you can choose hate and blame, and find yourself stuck in the exact place you were when someone hurt you.
3. Trust Him
Trust His process.
The first chapter of Philippians says, “He who began is faithful to bring it to completion.”
So are you trusting yourself and your own ability to figure it out as you strive for success?
Or are you trusting Him and His process that He promises to finish.
God knows what He is doing.
Let Him do it.
So, I leave you with a question:
How will you be present and faithful to where you find yourself today?
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