Growing is a Process that Takes Time!

Growing: to develop naturally, increase
Time: Point in duration; occasion

Spiritual growth, much like natural growth, takes time. It takes at least 18 or more years for us to grow from a baby to an adult (some times a WHOLE LOT longer)! It takes time for plants to grow; and time for fruit to mature and ripen. Likewise, the same principle holds true for growing in God - there are no shortcuts - growing simply takes time. It's a process that we have to go through. Additionally, there is no growth without change. Now, I know that we've heard people say; "I don't like change," but those people are short-sighted, for without change nothing grows naturally or spiritually. And thank goodness for us that God is so merciful that He has allotted time for our growth!

Our growth process is like climbing up a ladder - we must take one step at a time to ensure that we don't trip. If you rush up to the top, you might miss a step and fall back down. Fortunately, God is not concerned with our rate of speed, however, He does command us to grow. 1 Peter 2:1-3 tells us, "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

Of course, with change there will be pains, because struggles and battles are certainly going to come to test us to see if we have grown. Again, the Lord doesn't expect us to be at the top of the ladder overnight (thank goodness!), but He does expect us to be taking steps toward the top.

In today's world, people are obsessed with speed. We want everything right now - we microwave our popcorn and we fly up and down the highway at speeds well above the posted speed limits, just going to the grocery store up the street. Since that's the world we live in and what we are used to, we try to apply that same philosophy to God and we try to rush Him. The thing we tend to forget is that He's more interested in us waiting on Him for directions and He wants us relying on Him for our next move.

The Lord realizes that it takes time to grow, so let's slow down and wait on God.  Remember that the tortoise beat the hare not because he was in a hurry, but because he kept going, one step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race. Let's Thank God for His mercy, for His grace and for His patience that He has toward us. God never gets in a hurry, but He's always right on time!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!