#GrowthSpurts 2018.01.08
I had a great day yesterday. It wasn't "perfect" by my standards, but I was content & encouraged, which is definitely God's Standard. (I still have many things to learn). Started my Sunday w\a great quiet time, service was awesome w\a humbling message, had lunch w\some friends where we enjoyed each other's conversation, had a chance to serve my mom, met up with my son for dinner (which was encouraging on many levels), and have some conversations with some friends who were riding "highs w\God" because of what He's done for them recently... Well, God always provides, but our perspective may not be where it needs to be to fully appreciate it. Everyone seemed great, the appreciation for God was strong, and bc of that, everyone seems unstoppable.
As I was praying with one of them, I noted how "we can't really pray for you to keep us on this 'high', so help us to appreciate it & you. so when the low hits, we have the proper heart & mindset to quickly learn & walk through it for You."
It's funny - when things are done in God's way, we feel unstoppable. We feel bulletproof bc of Him, and we are beaming with His Spirit. It's like when we walk out from the baptismal pool - and yet, most of us are not prepared for the unsettling lows. And yet, the Bible could not be clearer that our spiritual good requires that God leads us over the mountains, but also thru the valleys.
they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. | ||
Psalms 104:8 |
I was reading something from John Owen and it begins to explain why we can't just stay in the 'highs'. He wrote, just as "the growth of plants is not by constant insensible progress... but... by sudden gusts and motions... so the growth of believers consists principally in some intense vigorous actings of grace on great occasions'. God is happy not because He's given us steady, uninterrupted growth in grace, but because He has us cry to Him, wait on Him, seek His Face, often in the midst of trials, before He grants us to grow more like Jesus. And if nothing else, to humble us & keep us dependent upon Him.
When we think about it, we are fooling ourselves if we think that we're best when we are riding our "spiritual high" because, we're good. How often do we pray when we're 'good'? And now, in comparison to when we are truly struggling... We pray consistently, and with sincere hearts, asking God to help us thru this difficult time. Its those times during "the valley" that bring about the gusts & bursts of growth.
Groups of plants never grow evenly, so we must remember not to compare our growth with anyone else's, nor should we fear the struggle, because it's those struggles that will produce the growth we need to be closer to God.
