Strategies for Growth

Welcome this change! 

"The things we can’t see now will last forever." 2 Corinthians 4:18 MSG 

We enjoy the blessings of change, but not the process of change. We’re creatures of habit. We form our habits, and our habits form us. Then we start to see things exclusively from our own perspective. And when that happens, we stagnate.

The truth is, without change there is no growth. When you have the right attitude every experience – positive and negative – becomes an opportunity for progress. Think about it: trees need more than sunshine to produce fruit. Rainy seasons are productive seasons too, and they always precede the harvest. You don’t have to like rain, you just have to understand its purpose and benefits. The Bible says that every day "the Lord...makes us more and more like him...we are changed into his glorious image" (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). 

But to become like Jesus you must follow wherever He leads. That means following Him through the wilderness of temptation, the pain of rejection, the forfeiting of your reputation, the surrendering of your will, and readiness to go to the place of crucifixion where you die to all forms of self-centered living. 

Following Jesus may mean being in a different location tomorrow than you are today. Once you grasp this principle, you’ll stop fearing and resisting the changes taking place in your life and start seeing God at work in them. Paul says, "Even though on the outside it...looks like things are falling apart...on the inside...God is making new life...The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG). 

Prayer point:

Lord, I know that I have habits (some I might not even be aware of) that shape my perspective, but I pray that You would convict me of any thoughts that are causing me to be stagnant. Help me, instead, to embrace change with joy so that I can bless others and become more like You every day. Amen.