"Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. Ecclesiastes 3:1
There are no shortcuts to maturity.
Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.
While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow.
Discipleship is the process of conforming to Christ. Christlikeness is your eventual destination, but the journey will last a lifetime.
So far we have seen that the journey involves believing (through worship), belonging (through fellowship) and becoming (through discipleship). Every day God wants you to become a little more like him.
God is more interested in strength and stability than swiftness.
The Bible says; "our lives gradually become brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."
Why does it take so long? Although God could instantly transform us....he prefers to work in incremental steps in our lives.
We are slow learners. We need repeated exposure.
We have a lot to unlearn. Since most of our problems-and all of our bad habits-didn't develop overnight, it's unrealistic to expect them to go away immediately.
We are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves. The truth will set you free, but it often makes us miserable first. You cannot grow without a humble, teachable attitude.
Growth is often painful and scary.
There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain. Every change involves a loss of some kind.
Habits take time to develop. Your character is the sum total of your habits. There is only one way to develop the habits of Christlike character; You must practice them-and that takes time.
Don't get in a hurry.
Believe God is working in your life even when you don't feel it. "Everything on earth has its own time and its own season."
Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned. Write down the insights and life lessons God teaches you about him, about yourself, about life, relationships, and everything else. "It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off."
Be patient with God and with yourself. God's timetable is rarely the same as ours. There are no Easy Steps to Maturity or Instant Sainthood.
A delay is not a denial from God.
Remember how far you've come, not how far you have to go." PDL Chapter 28
OK, I know that I'm screwed up and I really want to change, TODAY. It seems like 5 minutes ago that I accepted Christ as my savior and now, 5 minutes later, I want to quote Scripture and be able to defend my faith in an argument. This chapter is telling me that it's all in God's time, that I have to be patient. OK, ok, I'm working on it. The most significant lines for me are; A delay is not a denial from God. and Remember how far you've come, not how far you have to go." Both of those are huge for me and what I need to keep reminding myself of. I have come a long way, I'm excited and I have a long way to go. But, God's not done with me yet.
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