Spiritual Maturity.
How are you growing in spiritual maturity?
We are all on a journey of growth in some form or another. Every year we experience growth of some kind. Growing older is inevitable, some of us are growing taller and some of us are even growing wider! Hopefully, we are all growing wiser.
For the next two weeks we are going to be using the same biblical story to explore the topic of growing up. How are you growing spiritually? In particular is your faith in God growing?
The life of Moses is a great story of growth, both personally and in his relationship with God. Near the start of his story Moses needs reassurance from God. Moses need to know that he could trust God as he stepped out in obedience.
Later on in Exodus 33, God tells Moses that they will finally be entering the Promised Land. But they would be doing it alone because God was so angry with Israels disobedience. This time instead of Moses needing reassurance he confidently puts a stake in the ground and says that he wont enter the land if God is not going with him.
Here we witness a beautiful transition in Moses life and a wonderful statement of faith (Exodus 33:15-16). Here Moses has the promised land before him, the pinnacle of all they have been through for the last 40 years yet Moses says he will not go into it without God. Moses faith had grown so much! He went through significant highs and lows and through these experiences his belief in the power and faithfulness of God increased. It stared with questioning and doubt but ended with confidence and faith. It increased to the point where he was simply not interested in doing anything without God!
Moses had transitioned from “how is everyone going to believe me” and “how am I going to prove that I am your messenger” to “your presence with me is all I need, you are the one who brings the power and authority. You are the one who is glorious and gives strength to who I am, without you I am nothing.” He has changed from doing things in his own strength to relying on God's.
Are you growing in faith? Is your faith stronger this year than last year?
As much as we dislike difficult times often those are key times that our faith grows. Have you been just cruising along? Have you been half-hearted in spending time with God in prayer or His word? When was the last time God spoke to you?
Faith is like a muscle it is worked and strengthened when put under tension. If we choose not to work it and always choose the comfortable route it is never going to grow. Yes, Moses had an incredible life but what he gained from his experience with God was priceless. He grew in his knowledge and experience of God and this made him able to let go of his insecurities and doubts and lean completely on God for his life.
An indicator of spiritual maturity is when we move from needing to be convinced God is with us to refusing to move without Him.
This week I want you to think about your faith. Is it growing? What do you need to change in your life so that your faith grows this year?
Lord, Our faith grows when we press deeper into You, when we trust You more and know you more. I want to grow in my faith and I know sometimes this happens through difficult times which scares me. I know that You will never give me any more than I can handle with You. Will You help me to have the courage to place my hand in Yours and trust You more so that I can live with greater faith. Thank you. Amen
