Growing Through Experience

 

"So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah." -1 Samuel 16:13

We live in a very microwave culture.  If we want something, we want it now!  But, even though we can go through a drive-thru to get fast food immediately, this microwave mentality often does not apply to our calling and life with God.

We tend to think of David in the Bible as the great shepherd king, the worshipper after God’s own heart.  But I wonder when we think of him, if we truly consider all the processing David endured after he was anointed to be king?  Yes he won the fight against Goliath; but after he was anointed, he went back to tending sheep!  He spent many years running from Saul.  It was only after he was tested and he did not kill his enemy Saul that God allowed David to be king. This was years after Samuel had anointed the little shepherd boy in the field before his brothers.

Often we can be impatient with God’s processing.  We may want God’s promises - all right now!  But God has His reasons for timing that may not make sense to us in the moment.  We may not be ready.  We may not be able to handle what He wants to give us until He puts us in a place of character building.  We have to learn to trust God when we have not yet seen the manifestation of the dream that is on the inside of our hearts. This is how God knows we can be trusted with it. This is how we grow to be able to have the capacity to carry God-sized dreams.  We grow through experience.

Are you letting God grow you through experience?  Even if you feel the place you are at right now is not your ultimate destination, decide to treat it with respect.  It will often provide the training ground we’ll need to be able to withstand God’s promises in our lives and our ultimate calling.

A Lesson in Chores

Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. -2 Corinthians 12:9

"I'd like for you to load the dishes in this way. This is how the instruction manual says to do it!"

"Oh my gosh, do I seriously have to put the dishes in the dishwasher that way?" I thought. My 19 year old self was fighting what appeared to be pointless detail for something that really was not all that important, in my opinion: dishwasher loading. 

"If you put them in this way, you can fit more in!" said my stepmom. "Ok," I said, keeping a cheerful attitude. After all, they were letting me stay with them until I got back on my feet: I needed to be agreeable! 

A few weeks later I was asked if I could clean the house. "Ok," I said. However, upon careful inspection of my work, it was revealed that I missed a few spots. "Could you go back over this and this?" said my stepmom "Argh," I thought. "This is ridiculous. This attention to detail is really starting to get under my skin!"
 
Looking back I realize that God had a lesson for me in "the details." I am naturally not a very detailed person. But, during that time, God was putting a finger on my lack of detailedness, something He wanted to strengthen in me. I cannot tell you how much this has helped me in life! 

Has God allowed situations in your life to help you with your weaknesses? Let Him work through your weaknesses, so that His purposes can be fulfilled in your life.

Spiritual Seasons

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build..." -Ecc 3:1-3

One night at our church discipleship group, our worship leader had something she felt needed to be shared during prayer.

"I feel like God wants some of you to know that everyone goes through spiritual seasons, much like we're in a season change right now. Some of you may be in spring, where you're excited about new ideas and new things happening in your life. Others of you may be in winter, where you don't see much going on. But I want you to know that being in a different spiritual season is all okay, and it is all a part of God's plan."

Life in God has spiritual seasons. Sometimes our lives may be in flux. We may not know quite where we are going, and that is okay. We might be shedding old thought patters and beliefs that we need to get rid of in order to take us to a new place. We need to trust God in these seasons. We may be in a harvest season, enjoying the fruit of our labors. We may find ourselves in a dry place, like winter, or we may find ourselves in a place where everything is blooming and we are seeing a lot of spiritual fruit, like summer.

Whatever the season, know that God has a purpose for the season that you are in right now. Like the trees outside, when we're firmly planted in Him, these season changes are a natural part of being a Christian. Sometimes we need to be pruned. Plants that aren't pruned aren't able to grow to their full potential. We need to remember to hold tight to Him and trust Him during these season changes so He can do the greater work in our lives, and so Christ's glory can be revealed in us.

What season are you in right now?