Growing in Spiritual Maturity

Rev. Shine P. Thomas

God has a plan and a purpose about each and every child of God. God has a universal plan and God’s plan for you and me fits into the universal plan of God. We cannot obtain God’s purposes by leading an ordinary life. We have to lift up our faith and life to godly standards for God to use us. In other words, God wants us to grow and mature spiritually.

1. God works on us as individuals to establish his plans.

God appeared to Abraham and strengthened his faith. In chapter 17 of Genesis, Abraham responds by complete obedience. By now Abraham begins to mature in his faith. He begins to trust his God wholeheartedly. He obeyed God in circumcising his whole household in one day in Genesis 17 when he was 99 years old and God finally gave him a son when he was 100 years old. It took 25 years for Abraham’s faith to mature. God worked in Abraham all these years and finally God delivered his promise. Moses was selected to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage when he was a child. It took 80 years (40 years in Egypt & 40 years in Midian) for Moses to fall in line with God’s plan. David was anointed king at age 20 but it was at age 37 that he really became the King of Israel. It took 17 years to build up David’s trust and faith in God. God constantly works in our lives to make us mature.

2. God works on others to collectively establish His plans.

Abraham on his own could do nothing to see God’s plan come through. He needed support from his wife, Sarah. Now what if Sarah wanted a daughter? What if she did not want a child at all by now? God had to work collectively with Sarah after working with Abraham to accomplish his purpose. According to Genesis 18:1-8 what was God’s purpose to visit Abraham? I feel God visited Abraham to strengthen Sarah’s faith. Sarah’s faith would have been as low as Abraham’s faith. God personally worked with Abraham over the years and he matured in his faith in God. Now God needed to strengthen Sarah’s faith. Maybe Abraham forgot to tell Sarah about the promised son or maybe that Abraham told Sarah and she could not believe it. It was just that Sarah’s faith needed reassurance. The Lord just did that by visiting them in their tent. After the visit here we can find both Abraham and Sarah had faith in God collectively to achieve God’s promises in their lives. When my faith matures and I start to pursue God’s purposes, God works with other around me collectively and instills the same vision in them so that together we can work together for establishing God’s plans in our lives.

God is working in you and me today, all that you are going through is a plan of God. God wants us to be mature in our faith and spiritual life through our circumstances. Once we fall in line with God’s plan it is again God who brings others with the same vision to work with us.