“I just don’t understand where God is taking me!” How many of us have felt this way? It’s a season where nothing you thought you knew before applies to the life you’re living right now. All of us want to feel as though we’re in control of certain things. It makes us feel secure in our own skin, but there will inevitably come a time when that security is challenged. We thought we knew who we were, but life can throw situations and circumstances that shake us to the core. This can feel like you’re out there, floating in an unfamiliar ocean without safety nets or anchors. Even though this is one of the most discomforting feelings we can experience, it is almost certainly a time of growth. It’s a place where the Lord is helping to expand your faith to a whole other level.
God said in Isaiah 55:9(NLT), “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Most of us are consumed with only what we can see before us, and we don’t think all that much about the expanse of the universe and the millions of galaxies that exist. This is what God is talking about in Isaiah 55:9. The expanse of the universe that He’s created makes earth look like a small dot. The sun is believed to be closest star to the earth, and it is 4.2 light years away. Even with technological advances currently employed by space exploration agencies, it would take thousands upon thousands of years to reach the sun. This gives us an inkling of an idea of God’s expansive universe.
Consider how high above the sun His throne must be. In Isaiah 55:9, He’s given us the framework to mentally process the distance between His thoughts and our thoughts. It’s immeasurable. Compared to Him, we know absolutely nothing. Yet, He knows our thoughts, and He’s interested in them. His desire is that we will think like Jesus Christ, because those are the thoughts that expand us as God’s children. The mind of Christ allows us to walk in God’s Spirit, and to move, speak, and think the way God moved, spoke, and thought through the person of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father is always rooting for us to step outside the zones that bring us comfort, because very often these are the zones that can also cause us to be spiritually stagnant. When we’re stagnant, we can’t reach the blessings on the top shelf. We can only remain in those blessings that we’re used to enjoying, those that make us comfortable. We don’t stretch those faith muscles, but instead, we like things just the way that are and don’t want them to change.
Life teaches us that there are irritants that accompany the growth process. A plant with insects paints a perfect picture of this. Anyone that has ever had a plant in their home and enjoyed them in nature has an understanding that plants are supposed to grow. If we see a plant with leaves that are browning, yellowing, or falling off prematurely, we know that something is hindering the plant’s growth. In some cases, it has been attacked by insects, and we understand we need to do something quick so that the plant will not continue to decline. We want it to thrive and set a plan in motion to deal with the pesky stuff that keeps it from thriving.
There are many different aspects of our lives, and within these different aspects, there are little insects that keep us from growing. They impact our walk in Christ, and sometimes we don’t even realize what they are. Like those pesky invisible insects on a plant that are not seen with the naked eye, they stunt the plant’s growth or cause it not to blossom. Those insects are a symbol of those habits of thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes that keep us operating in fear and doubt, and we’re not conscious of what’s going on. We sense that something isn’t quite right, because some of the things we’ve counted on for a sense of security are no longer viable.
Colossians 2:7(NLT) tells us, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” This is what God wants us to do. We must grow strong in the truth of His Word, and this is an on-going process that will take the rest of our lives. For some of us, it’s been years since our last growth spurt. We’re still walking around thinking we’re the same person that made a major mistake in judgement ten years ago. We’ve grown in many ways, but we may not have grown beyond the point of still telling little white lies, still harboring jealousy, still sleeping with the man that refuses to marry us, still cursing people out, still afraid God won’t provide, and still refusing to make a full commitment to trust the Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts.
God said in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed because they refused to obtain knowledge about Him. They wouldn’t heed His commandments and imitate His nature. Instead, they chose to do their own thing, and this led to their destruction. If we have a great desire for top-tier blessings, we can’t refuse to extend our reach through faith. We must believe in what God says in His Word. If God says, “Let it go!”, best believe we had better release it, for He has commanded us to do so. We must believe that if we follow His instructions and guidance by walking according to the example of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father will reward us.
We’re not perfect, but we are most assuredly being perfected in Christ. As we grow, there are going to be irritants in the form of the fears and negativity that is still in our hearts. Colossians 3:8 tells us that now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, pettiness, malicious behavior, and dirty language, because these things zap the strength of our faith and keep us from the blessings God desires to give us. We should have a heart towards Him that wants to get rid of anything that doesn’t please Him. So, when we experience those seasons when it feels like we’re floating and almost about to sink, it’s time to pray. We must pray to God and ask Him to remove the veil from our eyes. We need to see what’s holding us back, and when we do, we must do all we can to expel it so we can reach up and grab the top-tier blessing we’ve been praying to receive.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“When A Growth Spurt Is Near” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!