Growing Pains

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A little before midnight I awakened to the heart wrenching sound of sobbing. Sweet & Sassy, clutched her beloved Piggy, blubbered incoherently, & in vain I attempted to discover the reason for her apparent misery. My second born has a cry that creates seismic activity, the pitch & the volume of it are so extreme. The Lone Ranger & I bolted into action, knowing that her weeping could soon have the other darlings awake & crying as well. We went through the usual list of questions. Bad dream? Did something scare you? What hurts? Finally (after what seemed like hours) we learned the source of her woe. Through mumbled words & in between the hiccups of sobs, Sweet & Sassy conveyed that her "wegs hurt"....Here I must pause to give due credit to my husband, as he was far more on top of things than I. As soon as our girl uttered "wegs", the Lone Ranger instantly knew that she was enduring the angst of growing pains, & I have to admit that at 4'10", I have never experienced them for myself...Once we knew the source of the problem, discovering what to do to ease her discomfort was another matter. Tylenol was a given, but as we waited for it to take effect, our parent's hearts were breaking as we watched our little one suffer. Big crocodile tears streamed from her eyes as she looked at us with expectation. Clearly written upon her face was the anticipation that we would take away the affliction...and now. My precious husband picked up our daughter, cradled her to his chest, & in a soothing voice explained to her that he too had endured this pain when he was a little boy. He told her how it was a sign that she was growing, becoming a big girl, & that while it hurt so badly right now by tomorrow morning she would feel all better & be bigger because of it. To my astonishment (& admiration), his explanation eased her crying a bit. The sobs turned to sniffles, & my husband relinquished our little lady to my arms. I began to rub the back of her knees, her calves, & her feet. The medicine & massage did their job and soon Sweet & Sassy was able to drift off to sleep. True to the Lone Ranger's word this morning my precious girl bounded into the living room, blissfully recovered from the trauma of the night....I daresay that she does look a little taller  :o)

In the wee hours of the morning, Abba reminded me of the growing pains I experience in my faith. As I journey through life from time to time aches arise. Conviction on a matter, trials & tribulation, misunderstandings, & even the simple worries of life often create a tenderness that leaves me stinging. In the midst of the affliction I am raw & emotional. I wonder why these things have to happen, & why my Abba allows it. Last night He spoke through my beloved husband to remind me. The pains are a sign of my spiritual growth...indeed the lack of them would be a sign that I was not growing as I should. While I am hurting it is difficult see past the pang, to see it for what it is...a symbol of deepening faith. Just as my daughter became incoherent in her agony, so do I lose myself in the angst of a situation. The muscles, tendons, & other anatomical matter of a child are stretched & strained to create room for growth, & perhaps this is where the correlation of my analogy ends. A child did nothing to warrant the pain of growing, & they can do nothing but endure it until it passes, but for adults & the growing pains of faith it’s a bit different. Here are a few reasons for spiritual growing pains & remedies for handling them:

1. Spiritual Warfare:  Increasing, deepening, influential faith is the greatest threat to Satan, & he will do his utter best to halt its progress. Spiritual manifests itself in any number of ways from minor annoyances to perpetual sickness, to extreme trials & persecution.

     Remedy:  Cloak yourself in the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18)   

                      "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

 When Spiritual Warfare comes, be prepared to fight the battle. Take heart in knowing that if you are enduring Spiritual Warfare it is because Satan views you as a worthy foe. If he is taking time to cause you trouble that can only be because you are having a positive impact for the Kingdom....and that's a good thing! You must be doing something right!

2. Conviction: Abba brings to light sin within our lives. The revelation of that sin stings & results in many emotions: shame, embarrassment, self-consciousness to name a few. It leaves us in the place of needing to repent & to change our ways. Conviction is uncomfortable at best...agonizing would probably be a more apt description. 

     Remedy: There is only one effective way to alleviate the pangs of conviction: Repent, Believe, & Turn. Sincerely, wholeheartedly Repent (to feel regret, to change thinking) to the Lord & to any against whom the offense was committed.  “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." (Matthew 4:17)  Believe, 'being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.' (Philippians 1:6) The third step of Repentance is to Turn & to amend our ways...to stop the sin & do what is right. “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins,pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you."(Acts 3:19)

3. Revelation of Abba's Strength:  The fall of man originated from the misconception that we are capable of being godlike. One bite of fruit made terribly clear that we are not as smart as Abba nor as powerful as He is, yet we often still need reminding of that some 6,000 years later. The weakness that initiated sin in the first place still creates growing pains today. For whatever 

reason we are guilty of the presumption that we can outwit the Master Plan or re-orchestrate our lives & God-given, free will allows this 'stinking thinking' to play out...ultimately manifesting itself in predicaments of our own making. If we are honest with ourselves nearly all of the dramas, troubles, & stresses of our lives are direct effects of our own stupidity, & Abba allows us to suffer the consequences to teach us a lesson: He alone is omniscient (all-knowing),  omnipotent (all-powerful), & omnipresent (all-present)...He allows it so that we might be humbled.

      Remedy: Be mindful of our smallness in the grand scheme of who He is! When we become gods in our own minds, when we exalt other people & objects into idols...He will remind us who is Boss.

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-11)

"But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive — to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth." (Exodus 9:16)

4. Consequence of a Fallen World:  Problems, struggles, opposition, sickness, & so on are normal repercussions of living in a sinful world. When people walk to the beat of their own drum, when they live with their own pleasure & gain at the forefront of their minds, when they pursue their own will no matter the consequence to themselves or others bad things will most certainly happen. As a people, as a culture, & as a church we are often guilty of blaming God for these miry pits we find ourselves in when the truth is we dive into them head first. Growing pains are very often just direct results of poor choices...of sin.

     Remedy:  Be a disciple of Christ, make disciples of Christ. Until the time of Christ's return or until we breathe our last, we will be living in this desolate world & we will suffer from the consequences of sin. The greatest thing we can do is to make wise use of the time Abba has granted & to do our best to have as much impact for the Kingdom as possible. We can also strive to handle our growing pains in a way that is glorifying to the Lord. A child handles the raw agony of pain in the the only way she knows how, to thrash about & to cry out, we have options. We should most certainly cry out to Abba when we are hurting, but we should also handle those times with grace & with behavior & actions edifying to Him. We have the assurance that He has already fought & won any battle we might face...so we must enter the fight with the heart of a champion & conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of His esteem. The Lone Ranger's favorite scripture pertains to this:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I am certain that I have missed reasons for why we endure growing pains...this is a rudimentary synopsis at best, but I hope that it has been an eye opening encouragement to view the tender situations of your life for what they are...evidence of a life lived for the glory of the Lord. Be encouraged! The more aware you are of the pain, the more you see it for what it is, the more you can be certain that you are indeed growing in faith! Just as the Lone Ranger lovingly & tenderly explained to Sweet & Sassy the reason for her discomfort, so does your Abba do the same for you...John 15 is a precious passage to me & I will close by posting it in it's entirety...if you have read this post this far, please do not close out until you have read that scripture. Your Abba loves you, & He allows you to endure growing pains so that you might draw near to Him, & most importantly He abides with you through that pain.  Be Blessed this Day & Continue to Grow!     

*The bolded verses in the passage are my doing

John 15

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.⁴Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other."