Have You Grown as a Believer?

My pastor often suggests that we take a look at our lives as believers to see how much we have grown in the Lord, or if have we grown at all? Have our lives changed much since coming to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior? 

As I recalled the last 20 years, most of the time I seriously pursued the Lord with all my heart and I saw significant growth and change. My prayers were being answered, His joy and indescribable peace was in me. This doesn’t mean that everything was rosy, in fact there were some difficult times, but I knew the Lord was there and that He would help me. Yet, there were also times when for some reason or another, I let “little foxes” creep in (see Song of Songs 2:15CloseSong of Songs 2:15 Catch all the foxes,  those little foxes,before they ruin the vineyard of love,  for the grapevines are blossoming! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) and I wasn’t pursuing the Lord with the same diligence as before. When there were difficulties, I felt uncertain, my faith wavered, my emotions were unsettled, and I wondered, “God, where are You? Don’t You see I need help here?”

Then I read in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7Close1 Corinthians 5:6-7 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old "yeast" by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,

A little leaven leavens the whole lump [of dough] (NKJV).

In the Old Testament, leaven was yeast—the raising agent in bread dough. Christ is our daily bread; He is sufficient to meet the needs of our heart—no additives. I knew that due to disobedience, lack of diligence in the Word and prayer, I had let leaven in. Leaven in our lives can be many things: distractions, conversations, what our eyes see or ears hear, relationships or unbalanced priorities, or anything displeasing to Him. They all make an impact on our life and our relationship with Christ, which is the most important relationship we will ever have.

In our journey to Christian maturity, we are always discovering the ways of our amazing God and His will for our lives. His ways and His will are often entirely different than our own but we know His way is always the very best way! I praise God that at any moment we can change our focus, repent of the leaven, and pursue the One who loves us most. His plan for us is far better than anything we could plan for ourselves. By turning again to Him, our peace and faith are restored, our conscience is clear, and we have strong confidence in knowing He is here. He is the One who keeps us growing.

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Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version^®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.