Growth should be one of the many life goals in a Christian’s life. Someone who wants growth in their personal life is a wise man because only a foolish person would think they don’t need to grow because they have it all.
Usually it’s the beginning of a new year that many people set resolutions which are often very short lived and only lead to disappointment and even condemnation. I use to set unrealistic goals for myself with the start of a new year and I could never keep them because I was always setting my mind on the big things I wanted to change or achieve for the year but in the beginning of this year I made no set resolutions of any sort instead I said a simple prayer asking God to help me grow because I wanted to see real changes in my personal life instead of unrealistic new year resolutions. Everyone wants to see real growth or changes and many times those real changes can begin in small ways where it can even seem insignificant. Maybe you are reading this and you can resonate with my story or maybe you are simply interested in the term growth.
One important thing to know about growth is that it has no final destination but it’s a lifelong process that requires intentional effort leading us into our divine destiny. The scripture tells us in Romans that it is God’s will for every one of His children to become like Jesus who is the first born in the Family of God and we are all brothers and sisters of Christ. So we are called to a life of growth to become like Jesus each day in our character.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Romans 8:29 NKJV
I want to share some scriptures on this note.
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”
I Corinthians 11:1-2 NKJV
“Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as his beloved sons and daughters.”
Ephesians 5:1 TPT
We see in the scriptures above that God expects us to grow and become like His Son Jesus. When I read these scriptures I used to think that God has set impossible standards and I thought attaining this level of growth of becoming like Jesus was simply impossible but this is a lie from the enemy because the enemy will always come against the Word of God and make us believe it’s impossible. But if God gave us these promises then surely it’s because He knows we can attain them because God is not unreasonable or a liar, He is faithful and true to His word.
How amazing it is to know that we can become like Jesus. Yes! It’s possible for you and me to believe that we can grow towards our destiny because the Word of God is true. Becoming like Jesus begins with the little things and intentionally choosing to grow everyday with the help of the Holy Spirit.
One of the first things to do for any growth journey is to evaluate yourself through the Word of God and see where we need to grow. It begins with small progress and adjustments so don’t pull yourself down because you are not able to see big changes immediately. I heard someone once say “Small progress is still progress “ and this lifted off the burden of always having to feel disappointment or condemnation because I was only looking for the major changes and totally disregarding the small progress but learning that growth is a process made me see the journey of growth in a more realistic and approachable way. Don’t undervalue small progress because every great thing begins small. Keep going!
Growth also requires intention because no progress happens out of nowhere but it happens out of somewhere. If you want to prioritize growing then you need to intentionally take steps towards it.
While I was a student in a Bible college my instructors would often say “there is a man part and there is God part” how true is this saying because God is always ready to offer all the help we need for anything but it also requires intentionality from our side to do what we need to do on our part.
As long as your heart posture is towards growing you may not be in a place you want to be in currently but you will eventually get to a better place as you prioritize growing in your personal life. We are all called to a life of continual growth and no one has reached perfection here on earth, not even one of the most devoted and Holy man of God who wrote almost half of the New Testament. Paul states In Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”
We are all on a journey of learning and growing towards our final destination which is to become like Christ.
And the best part of our growth journey is that we don’t do it alone because we could never do it in our own strength but we do it with the Grace of God which is available for us everyday to help us in our journey.
As you are reading this, remember that it is God’s will for you to grow everyday. He knows where you are in life and what you are capable of. He is not placing a high demand that you cannot attain but He is willing to help you in this journey even in the small steps because He is your Father who loves you deeply.