When you give your life over to Jesus Christ, you can expect He will go to work immediately to change your heart to be more like Him, but He will not snap His fingers and make it happen overnight. He wants to build your character and encourage you to trust in Him, so the process will be constant, but gradual. You’ll be in Good Hands!
Hebrews 2:1 (NLT): “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (NASB): “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
GROWTH IN OUR WALK with Christ can be slow, sometimes exceedingly slow.
But the Lord has assured us that He will be with us every step of the way, guiding and directing, teaching and convicting, disciplining and blessing. He’ll pull us along the path, through storms and rainbows, until He delivers us in glory “without stain or blemish.” (Eph. 5:27)
The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1 (CEV): “Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.”
That means our growth will take place against both a backdrop of failure and success, of sadness and happiness, of sorrow and joy.
Each turn will bring its own opportunity to learn. As we struggle with obedience and reliance on Him, the spiritual blessings will flow.
Our job through this process is to remain faithful, stay in prayer, and lean into the Holy Spirit, the counselor advisor our Lord promised us before He returned to the Father.
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EACH CHALLENGE WILL LAST its season, to be replaced by the next one. At any time, we might be in a period of tribulation, heading into tribulation, or heading out of it. Whichever phase we’re in, the cycle continues, each time growing us closer to the Lord.
The current coronavirus challenge is one challenging season impacting all of us, throughout the world, at the same time. It presents a unique opportunity for the body of Christ to testify to our faith, both by how we act and by what we say.
Perhaps this is the time to renew family acquaintances, meet the neighbors from six feet away, or engage in the productive meditation that leads to service when we are called.
Soon, perhaps, we’ll enter a season of coasting, enjoying the wind beneath our wings. The Lord generously gives us fallow times, resting times, to build us up for the challenges ahead.
Let’s enjoy each season for what it offers. Whether in periods of rest or of turmoil, we should put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6) to protect us against the enemy, who is sure to misrepresent God’s role in this picture.
James tells us we are sanctified through the trials we endure, provided we count on God’s help: “And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”* (James 1:4 (CSB)
Amazing Grace!
PRAYER
O gracious and merciful Father, all praise, honor, and glory are Yours, O God. We thank You for sending us the Holy Spirit to be our ezer kenegdo — our counselor and advisor. Lead us through the storms, O Lord, and bless us when the storms are over. Thank You most of all, O Lord, for salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. For it’s in His name that we pray. Amen
LoveAndGrace 