IT’S TIME TO GROW UP
I’ve had a strong sense that the Lord is calling many people in the Church to greater spiritual maturity in this new year. As I’ve sat with this word, I’ve heard the phrase, “It’s time to grow up,” repeatedly over the last two months.
Too many have been drinking “milk” for too long (1 Corinthians 3:1–3). Maybe this is where you find yourself. There’s a longing in your spirit to go deeper. You’ve even tried substituting milk for something that can only be likened to soft foods, thinking that will “do the job”. It may be somewhere in the middle but it’s not quite what you need. If you’re honest, your appetite has only grown stronger.
Maybe you’ve felt limited in certain environments that have catered to some of your spiritual needs, but have still been limited in their ability to provide the depth and capacity for growth required for this new season.
You’ve been gracious to accept that perhaps they “just don’t serve that kind of food” — rightfully so — but they too have not been pushed to mature beyond their current level. Either that, or they’ve resisted God’s invitation and fought against it out of complacency, or because of comfort and overfamiliarity.
We know that no one can truly lead people where they haven’t gone before. With every season of growth will come a shift. Sometimes, the growth precedes the shift. You cannot keep resisting the shifts. In resisting them, you’re resisting God.
Leaders, what you’ve done for years has worked and is possibly still working, but that’s the grace of God in operation — either for you or for the sake of those you’re leading. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a demand on you to mature. God will always place a demand on leaders and pioneers to be the first to be matured, stretched and refined (again and again).
I see some of you finding deeper wells to receive from. Some of you will be digging deeper wells. I also see others arising to be ones God appoints to break the mould.