It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2: 13

 

When I was a youth, there was a summer where growth and change took over my body; I grew three inches taller and actually lost a considerable amount of weight in just a few weeks. From my viewpoint, I knew that things were changing, but my sense of the change was less than that of people who saw me after it had happened. I did experience pain, for my joints ached; and I had some really awkward moments; since, my hands and my feet did not know where they were in relation to the rest of the world.

 

God does some remarkably similar things in us; I doubt that He will make you much taller, but He will give you the confidence to hold your head a lot higher. He won’t necessarily cause you to lose weight, but He will carry the load of life for you. Just like in my growth spurt, you may not notice the dramatic ways that you are changing, but others will see a new person emerging.

 

In Christ, we are new persons; people who have been reoriented, made right and righteous, and have our relationship to God restored. Whether we are four, forty, or at any age, and throughout all of life, we grow and mature as the Spirit of God does the amazing and loving transformational work that He has planned for each of us. For every personal trainer, mentor, guru, yogi, pastor, and coach who has ever worked with people is a mere shadow of God; He knows us from the heart out, and He plans for our greatest good in ways that are beyond the capability of any human.

 

The growth pains and awkward moments that do come as we are on this life-long path of transformation are simply minor bumps in the road, reminders of how far we had to go and of how very far we have come in the journey of being transformed into the living image of Christ.