The Price of Growth (Declare - A Flourish Weekly Devotional)

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For the last couple of months, I have felt a deep stirring in my soul. It's hard to put into words, but it is like the rising tide of the ocean, slowly and steadily increasing from within. I sense it more acutely with each message I hear at church, each powerful believer I encounter, and most of all, as I spend time with the Lord.

Yet, as the tide ebbs and flows, I begin to realize that there is so much more within my reach. So many times it feels like God is calling to me, yet the voice is distant. I feel His presence, the warmth of His Spirit, and in an instant, it gives way to the cold of the world around me.

Perhaps you have felt like this on occasion. Perhaps you feel this way now. You may be wondering why this feeling takes hold of you at all.

That beckoning, that yearning, that pulls us into faith in the unseen is called growth. As our dear Flourish friend, Helen Baker, wrote, "Flourishing has everything to do with where we are planted and with our response to God during the good and bad times." Helen spoke of several Biblical heroes who grew in their faith through pain and heartache.

Growth comes at a price: the enduring of trials.

James 1:2-5 tells us:

“Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing. If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.” (The Voice)

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According to the One New Man Bible, "A trial is a heavenly test that forces a person to choose between God's will and his own nature or understanding of what is right. By standing in faith, we serve as witnesses to the world of His power working through us."

Most of us shy away from any kind of test, spiritual or otherwise. We fear failure or exhibiting sub-par performance. I might be the odd woman out here, but tests in school came easily for me because I liked to study. I was "that" student (a.k.a. "the nerd"). Tests were the easy part of school for me. However, not everyone around me felt the same. I'd venture to say that a fear of failure was due to lack of preparedness or misplaced focus.

Isn't our daily walk with Jesus the same? Life's ebbs and flows cannot be predicted, but you and I can be prepared for them. It's an open book test! Yet, so many of us feel like failures because we are not studying the material. It is the heart of Flourish to teach you the methods and practices of getting in the Word each day,  born out of a desire to see your life transformed. Our hope is to see you experience the joy of growing in the midst of the trials you face:

“You should greatly rejoice in what is waiting for you, even if now for a little while you have to suffer various trials. Suffering tests your faith which is more valuable than gold (remember that gold, although it is perishable, is tested by fire) so that if it is found genuine, you can receive praise, honor, and glory when Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, is revealed at last.” (1 Peter 1:6-7, The Voice)

As we grow more secure in our identity in Christ, a transformation takes place. We become unsettled and uncomfortable in situations where we once felt content or indifferent. Our entertainment choices change; how we speak, think and act changes, and our circle of friends changes as well. We are moved to action where we once stood as bystanders, and we begin to question our old patterns and habits.

Trials till the soil of our souls so that the seeds of faith fall on fertile ground and take root. The Spirit of God waters those seeds, giving them the nourishment they need to grow deep and strong. Robust roots give us the strength we need to endure the hard times.

God gave me Jeremiah 17:7-8 as my life verse, and I believe that it sums up what my heart wishes to convey:

“But blessed is the one who trusts in Me alone; the Eternal will be his confidence.

He is like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots beside the stream.

It does not fear the heat or even drought.

Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces.” (The Voice)

Helen shared Psalm 92:12-15, which precedes Jeremiah, but speaks of the same rooting in the Lord:

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."(ESV)

Tests will come -- it's a given. But you and I have the opportunity to change our perspective about going through them. We can choose to grumble and fight against all that God is teaching us, or we can embrace the winds of change and choose to grow in the Light of the Son, receiving the sweet rain of mercy and grace from Heaven:

“And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance, which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness.” (Romans 5:3-4, The Voice)

In Him,