Growing takes time.
It involves maturing and the gaining of wisdom and knowledge. And the beginning of wisdom and knowledge is the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 9:10 (NASB) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
A complete reverence and awe of Him who is in Ultimate control of all things. Him who is Sovereign, who gives and takes away…who blesses and withholds blessings at His will, for His divine purpose, and the accomplishing of His great plan for us.
And in this process is growth…a growing to the perfection of completeness in Him.
Romans 5:3-5 (NASB) And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
And it is in the obstacles and sufferings of this life that our character grows. We mature and gain perspective. We gain experience that grows our empathy. We become more prepared to comfort others as we have been comforted through our struggles and our challenges of this life…
…these pains required for growing to be accomplished.
And He is good, and His faithfulness and lovingkindness are everlasting, and He takes all things and weaves them together for our good, if we love Him and pursue His purpose with our whole hearts.
No matter the circumstance or situation we face…it is trusting and pressing in to Him..standing in awe and fear of Him…
…in this is the growing process of a lifetime.
May we embrace each situation with a posture of reverent fear of Him and in the lifelong growing He desires to accomplish in us, is my prayer.
In what ways have you been growing lately?
I’m joining Lisa-Jo, over at her site today, to take five minutes and just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. The challenge is to write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self-critiquing, with the prompt she gives.
And today, her prompt: Growing…
Beautiful. It DOES take time, doesn’t it. Time and patience with ourselves, with others… with God…. thank you for this lovely post. I am growing out of fear and into faith these days… it’s been quite a journey so far…. Blessings, sweet friend.
Visiting from Lisa-Jo’s site. This is wonderful. I needed it right at this moment more than you could know.
great post. i am growing in grace, in perseverance, in understanding. and i’ll have you know it’s not fun 🙂 but the benefits. . . they far exceed the pain in the growing.
blessings on your day!
wonderful post….yes…a lifetime to grow into all God has for us….
Blessings~
Maturing and growing can sometimes be awkward, painful at times. Growing pains, indeed. Worth it all in the end.
Janelle
GraceTags.com
He who gives and takes away. I love how He gives blessing and withholds blessing, all for our greater good!
Yes, so very much patience…such a journey! Blessings to you too!
Thank you for stopping by…and I’m humbled that it was words for you today, God is so good!
No…often not fun, but oh…OH the benefits of intimacy with Him. Blessings to you!
Yes…a lifetime…with no better journey than with Him!
Yes, pain becoming beauty, only through Him!
Yes…ALL for our good! Blessings to you!