Day 12 - Growing Pains

However, we do use wisdom to speak to those who are mature. It is a wisdom that doesn't belong to this world or to the rulers of this world who are in power today and gone tomorrow. 1 Corinthians 2:6

 Baby Christians get the quickest, fullest answers to prayers. Those were the days.  Later on, it almost seems as if God ignores your prayers.  Why? Because feeling must give way to faith.  God sees you reaching a level of maturity and you must go from being fed to feeding yourself.  You no longer need constant reassurance.  It is time to rely solely on His Word.  Time to do some "water walking" of your own.

Here's the best part - God is patient with you as you grow.  Ever work for a company where mistake-avoidance seemed to be the only goal?   How can an organization encourage excellence if the guillotine blade is ready to drop at the slightest slip up?  Mistakes happen when people get creative, when they experiment, when they try to bring a product from conception to the marketplace.  To be a successful company these days you must to welcome risk taking.  Eliminate this corporate culture of fear and allow innovators to innovate.

As you grow in Christ you will learn that failing does not make you a failure.  The righteous man falls seven times and rises again (Prov. 24:6).  Don't be so afraid to fail that you never try.  Don't be so afraid to be wrong that you are never right.  Many who have succeeded in life made mistakes.  Moses was a murderer and fugitive.  David was an adulterer and murderer combined.  They treated failure as a temporary set back, not as a reason to give up.  They repented, shook of the condemnation and went on to please God.

God wants to see himself in you.  It is a mark of tremendous growth and maturity.  This world is tricky - don't be fooled by its flattery.  The times I feel the most disjointed, aimless and upset, God is rejoicing - Growing Pains!  Made a mistake? Study it. Do you see a pattern? Learn from it and avoid it the next time.

Prayer:
Father, I thank you that my place is with you. Let my feelings give way to faith, help me to rely solely on your Word.  Forgive me and help me to be more like you today, in Jesus Name, Amen.

Go Deeper?
Genesis 2:16; Job 2:6; Psalm 51:12; Proverbs 28:10; Matthew 17:22; Hebrew 5:12-14;James 1:2-8