Growing Pains!

Have you ever wondered, "Am I even growing in the Lord?" I know I have. God is gracious and finds ways to reveal the work that He is doing in our lives. I am always thankful.

The bible talks about maturity, and how we begin to put away childish things as we mature. This is a process we will go through over and over again in our lives. Some will be more willing than others to submit to the process. I admit there are times I just don't want to do whatever "IT" is that I know I should do.

Being somewhat stubborn or (a lot stubborn :-) is usually found in most of us. The flesh in our lives...wants its way! It is always there trying to call the shots! This can be a great hindrance to growing in the Lord.

If we take an honest and close look into our lives, we will find the areas where we have hardened our hearts. We would never try to plant a seed in hard soil, and yet subconsciously we think God will plant seeds in our hard hearts. When we don't see the growth we want, we question why.

I am currently working through a situation I would normally have little or no patience to put up with...I would have just moved on. Then it occurred to me how much God has worked in my life to bring me to a point where I am choosing to handle the set of circumstances in a totally different way than I would a couple of years ago. I'm actually working through the process... instead of just giving up, and letting someone else take care of the problem. When it's all said and done, it is going to be great...but there is still the PROCESS that has to be worked through. PROCESS = GROWING PAINS! :) 

In our lives we will have a lot of growing pains, but it's in these moments maturity is born. I wish there was another way, but the Lord says to count it all joy when we enter different types of trials. Count it all joy? Yes, because the Lord knows through trials character is built, and so much more.

I pray that we can embrace the growing pains in our lives, and from the lessons we learn... we will be more like God.