Present with God: in my Growth

"If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful." -1 Peter 1:8

Participation in the Christian life assumes growth: come to Jesus as you are...but don't expect to stay there.

It is a precious truth that God longs to accept his fallen children and welcome them back home. Like any good father, he doesn't expect them to have all the answers or to get themselves cleaned up. Instead, he waits patiently and calls them consistently to just come home. His persistent and gentle call on our hearts is to bring all of our brokenness and return to him for wholeness and healing.

But like any good father, he will continue to draw us to greater and greater maturity and holiness. Sometimes we will hear gentle encouragements and sometimes we will experience painful discipline. But consistently and unfailingly God is calling us to greater maturity and growth.

Being present with God will result in an invitation to allow him to challenge areas of immaturity and brokenness. He will continue to press us to do the work required to heal and grow. When we feel him moving toward those areas, we must make a space to be intentionally mindful of his presence. We must be open to how he is drawing us to take a closer look at ourselves.

God is not shaping us for comfort but for glory.

Be Present with God

Make some time to be present with God. Thank him that he has welcomed you despite all your brokenness and your rebellion. Thank him that he has saved you and is restoring you. Make yourself vulnerable to God and allow him to reveal to you areas where you still need to heal and grow. Agree with God that you desire to continue to mature and want his help. Thank him for always drawing you to be your best self, as he made you to be. Thank him for the way he has made you aware of his presence in this time.