How To Grow Spiritually

If I had written this some years ago, at the end of it, you would have been so overwhelmed with responsibility and just felt so much weight on you. However, I’m not by this post promoting irresponsibility rather I’m promoting faith.

Someone once said if your faith has not been confused for lawlessness (or irresponsibility, in my own words) then you’re not walking by faith.

Today, I write to really shift your gaze… To make you stop holding yourself responsible for your growth and to make you grow in faith… by faith… Because, you see, the Bible says it is “…by faith from the beginning to the end”

Last week I wrote to you about how to measure spiritual growth. You can read that by clicking here. I suggest strongly that you actually read the post from last two weeks where we talked about what we call “spiritual life”. It’ll help you understand some foundational things. You can read it here.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (KJV)
“As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.”

You were taught in such a way that puts you under the burden of being responsible for your growth. How much you read your Bible, how much you pray, how much you keep silent in meditation, how much you give ,etc. were directly tied to your level of spiritual growth. If you studied more, if you prayed more if you gave more, you’d grow more. This is absolutely inaccurate. Listen to the scriptures “As thou knowest not the way of the spirit…”.

I remember I often pray saying “Lord I don’t know the way to the City, you know this and that is why you sent the Holy Spirit to lead me into all Truth“.

Let me ask you a question… Let’s be foolish for a moment like Paul said..

Try to compare the extent to which you’ve invested in knowing the scriptures, praying and meditating and all the “spiritual activities” you’ve been taught to do with the level of faith you have, does it seem equal? I know you probably know so much that if you would be sincere with yourself, you expect to bear more fruit… Or you think, I don’t know so much, I’ve not studied so much but I have so much faith that pleases God.

Somebody thinks I’m discouraging you from studying and praying… No I would never do that.

This is what I’m rather doing… I’m telling you to return to trusting God for your daily bread… Your daily nourishment… Your daily growth.

Doing all you do with faith in God not in what you do… Pay attention friend… I said “…with faith in God…” not “…by faith in God“… Think on it.

Spiritual growth is certain and steady when you recognize and surrender it to God… Trusting in your activities, you will grow weary and you do grow weary, don’t you?

You constantly strive to attain spiritual stature and height by your effort and religious activities… By this, you take God’s place in your life… And the scriptures teach that it is not by power nor by might.

Listen to me… Once faith is taken out of the race, you just stopped striving lawfully.

Let me bring this into perspective.

Spiritual growth is a blessing from God.

Friend, go on studying, go on praying, go on meditating, go on obeying, go on going on… They are all seeds. It is God that calls a blessing upon it to yield.

Do you get that? If you don’t, look again at our anchor scripture.

A farmer will sow a seed, water it and dress it but he never can make it grow. No matter the effort he puts, if God had not spoken a word that there will be harvest time, that seed will never yield.

Listen, if you do not learn to depend on God for your nourishment, you will run and run out… You will grow weary… You will get to a point that you will forget your past experiences and encounters and say “this thing is not for me”.

Isaiah 55:10 (KJV)
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:”

Listen!!! …and MAKETH IT bring forth and bud… Hmmmmmm.

Sometimes… Pardon me… Every time, you should give thanks to God saying “thank you Lord for I am certain you are transforming me. My efforts aren’t building me, the power is not in me, it is You.”

Spiritual growth is faith not activities…

Only God knows the stage you are in, even you don’t know… Likewise, only He knows the right amount of rain or snow to send, because, you see, what grows the veges drowns the cactus.

Faith…Faith…Faith

Knowledge doesn’t equate to growth… Faith does and faith is a blessing from God… it comes when thou abideth (John 15:4-5)… It is a fruit… Abiding is trusting and obeying.

“What then is my responsibility Rowland?” You ask.

I’ll show you in the scriptures…

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (KJV)
“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”

What is this seed… The Word, Prayer and Obedience.

Do you believe?

Do you believe that God is responsible for your growth and not you?

Your duty is to sow that seed night and day it is God’s duty to release the blessing as He deems fit.

Oh friend, I wish that you trust Him with all your heart that He is causing you to grow. Oh friend, I wish that you go to the word and to pray not trusting in your strength but trusting that the Lord will send the rain that will cause your seed to bud. Oh that you rejoice in His faithfulness to cause your seed to grow as you sow in the morning and withhold not thine hand at night.

Listen to me and let me round off with this. You were saved by grace through faith, you must hence live by grace through faith and growth is a part of living.

Keep sowing and trusting.

Thank you for joining me this week. I’ll write to you next week.

Please don’t forget to share this post via the link you received. You can like and comment.

God bless you.

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