God’s Will and Spiritual Growth: Part 1

I have noticed that when I am under significant stress things tend to come out of me which normally don’t. 

I bet you are the same way!

I verbally tend to become more critical, harsh, and less compassionate toward others.

During times like these I have to recalibrate by asking myself who am I really. Am I the guy who acts more Godly when not stressed or the guy who is less Godly under stress? Who is the real Jamie?

I bet sometimes you have to ask the same question…who is the real you?

In a similar manner, it is during stressful times in our relationship with God we learn what is truly within us. It is during these stressful times when we find out whether we truly love God and are willing to follow him.

At some point, we realize that God is not going to give us everything we want by serving him. This is tough because I want God to give me whatever I want.

We also come to realize that God even asks us to do things we don’t want to do. It is then that we are faced with the choice to continue serving God anyway, or simply walk away. Unfortunately, many choose to walk away.

Don’t let that be you!

Jesus told a parable about this in Matthew 13:1-9, called the parable of the Sower.

In the parable of the Sower, a farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of the seed fell on rocky places. Since the soil was shallow, the seed sprang up quickly. When the sun began beating down upon the plants, they died because they had not grown any roots.

In this parable, the seed is the message of Jesus. The soil represents people’s hearts. The sun represents troubles and persecutions. The seed on the rocky places represents the people who initially become followers of Jesus, but then realize God is not going to give them a life free of troubles. Ultimately, they fall away from Jesus. After all, why serve a God who does not give me what I want?

The thought of living our entire lives in obedient service to God, doing what God desires and never getting the things we want in life can be scary. Unfortunately, the only other choice is living life for the purpose of our human gratification.

God the Father and Jesus are not about to bend their will to our will. In contrast, they ask us to bend our will to their will. Because of this, daily submitting our will to God’s will is a very important practice of spiritual growth. Submission of our will to God’s must be a daily, intentional practice.

Let me say it this way. As you submit your will to God, you will experience the power of God in your life and grow spiritually.

Let me say it another way. If you were God, who would you cause to grow spiritually…the one pursuing their own will…or the one pursuing your will?

You got it. The one pursuing your will.

Remember to pursue the will of God to maximize your spiritual growth!