Spiritual Growth Spurts

As a dad, I’ve occasionally had to tell my kids that the ache they were feeling in their legs was because of growing pains. And I remember being told the same thing by my parents when I was a kid.

The thing about growing pains is that you never get to see the growth right away. It would be easier to accept the torment at night if the next morning you looked at a “bigger you” in the mirror. But there is pain…and then nothing seems to change.

You rarely notice your own growth over a season, and though others will recognize it (“my, you’re becoming a big kid), they can’t see it overnight either. Because while growth happens day by day, it’s imperceptible until the “spurt” is complete.

In our spiritual lives, this happens as well. We feel the pain, but we don’t see the gain. Others may encounter us after a year and say “my, you’ve grown more mature since I’ve seen you last”, but more often than not, nobody—most of all us—really, tangibly, notices the growth until well after it has taken place.

But growth is happening, nonetheless.

If you are concerned that you aren’t growing, look for a couple of signs:

1. Pain. Sometimes you may be experiencing pain because something is wrong, while other times it’s because you are growing. Learn to appreciate the difference between healthy and unhealthy pain, then embrace what is semenax scam good and get help for what is destructive.

In fact, if you are a leader, one of your responsibilities is to point out when folks are experiencing growing pains and to look for the signs of pain that is manifesting something wrong. Just like as a dad I need to be on the lookout for good and bad pain in my kids lives, and give them perspective, as shepherds who are called to care for God’s sheep, we also need to seek to discern the source of pain in people’s lives.

2. Hunger. One thing that always accompanies a physical growth spurt is a voracious appetite. My 10 year old can eat more than I can right now, and too soon I fear he’ll shoot up bigger than me! This is true spiritually as well. If you are not at all hungry, maybe you aren’t growing. But a hunger for the word and prayer and the things of God may indicate that some real growth is about to take place.

Though we are all called to develop our hunger for God, the interesting thing about growth spurts is we don’t choose to get hungry when they happen, our body tells us we need food and it converts that food into fuel to grow. So next time you get thirsty or hungry for the Spirit, obey your thirst, and watch for growth (as well as growing pains) to soon follow.