Good Morning Gorgeous,
It’s a brand new day. A fresh start. A new day to keep going. One step at a time. Moving forward not back. Eyes ahead, as sure as the sun will rise, you can keep going. You may not be yet where you desire to be, but you are not where you were.
Healthy growth is often slow and it can feel frustrating. I am currently feeling that way. I am feeling like some things I have been battling against should be behind me already. I feel like I keep getting ensnared by the same traps I thought were long behind me. I am feeling a bit frustrated by the slow growth of maturing in Christ.
I’ve been feeling this way for a while, and the Holy Spirit has encouraged me this morning through Phillipians 3:12-16. Paul was writing to the church, and he shared that he was feeling a similar way. He shared his desire to be like Christ. Then he said, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.” Philippians 3:12-14, 16
Two key takeaways from Paul… I press on and we must hold onto the progress we have already made.
So, today that is what we will cling to. We will press on.. never giving up even on the hardest of days. Never going backwards, only forward. Some days, we may even stop momentarily just to catch a breath and find rest in Jesus. But then we will press on, moving ahead. Heels dug into solid ground, and not shifting sand. We will run with endurance.
And the 2nd takeaway is to reflect on our progress that we have already made. I am nowhere near the internal mess that I once was. I have come so far on this journey with Jesus. I am thankful for His grace, His patience, and His guidance. He has pulled me out of the mire and set my feet on solid ground. I am not yet complete, but I am clay in the Potter’s Hands. I am in the right Hands, secure and safe in my Father’s Loving Hands.
This morning, the Lord showed me a strong, healthy oak tree with a massive trunk, and a wide, deep root system. It was covered in strong branches and green leaves providing a large amount of shade. He asked me how quickly the oak tree matured? It takes time to build a strong, healthy oak tree. The growth is so slow that you wouldn’t be able to notice the growth day by day by looking at it. You would only notice the growth over long periods of time as you observe it and realize it’s not the seedling it once was. If the oak tree, shot up quickly and grew tall overnight, it wouldn’t have the root system to support the massive trunk or wide reaching branches. It would fall over from it’s own weight. Slow growth means healthy growth.
We are so much more than an oak tree. But the image helps me this morning to be still and trust that God isn’t finished with me yet.
Gorgeous Girl, lean into Him today and rest assured you are growing each day that you seek Him. In our submission to His ways, we are moldable and shapable by the One who created us. He will shape our character, our hearts, our intentions, our desires, our path ahead of us. He will guide us and lead us to purpose and destiny. He will equip us fully so that we can accept every assignment from Him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Strengthen us, and settle our spirits to rest in You. Help us to accept our growth and press on to keep moving and growing into all You have called us to be. Let us press on in this race all the way to the finish. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
