Struggle Is A Key Part Of Growth

Good Morning!! When God wants us to grow, He places us outside of our comfort zones. Jesus invited Peter to get out of his old, familiar boat and join Him on the water. He told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give his money to the poor. He told the paralytic lying on his mat to stand up and walk. Whether we are hard workers like Peter, living in comfort like the rich ruler, or handicapped and depending on society for support like the paralyzed beggar, we all tend to settle into comfort zones and hang our security on human devices. We buy insurance to cover every possible situation. We go to the same places, follow the same routines, socialize with the same people,...rarely looking beyond, what we already know.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said Come.—Matthew 14:28 29a (KJV)

We also play it safe spiritually, as well. We grow to a level of spiritual maturity (or immaturity) and there we stay. Our spiritual life may be boring,...but familiar and so predictable. We sit in the same pew, sing the same songs, give the same amount, think and behave the same way. Instead of growing, we calcify. That is until God shakes up our world, and we pushed to depend less on ourselves, and more on Him. It's scary, but also exciting to depend on God. Try moving out of your comfort zone,...lean less on your crutches and rely more on the Lord!

When you learn to truly lean of God,
...you'll see yourself walking on water, laughing at adversity and running without limping.

It's our tests, that gives us our testimony.

"...the individual whose track record is morally pure has no better chance at earning God's favor than the individual who has made a wreck and waste of their life, and is currently living in unrestrained disobedience."

(THE GRACE AWAKENING, Charles R. Swindoll, p. 22)