Growing pains, I have heard the term often referring to different things. In business, it can refer to needing to and trying to expand, yet it requires going through some unwanted situations that need to be navigated carefully to keep from interrupting the progress of the business. As a child, I remember having leg pains at night after playing hard all day and my mom would say “It’s just growing pains.” As Christians, we should have growing pains too. Every area of our lives needs to be challenged to be more like Christ. Being conformed to His image is what our goal should be. In Romans 8:29 we see the purpose of any growing pains we may experience as a Christian. It is to mold us to be more like Christ.
Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
In the first Christian church, there were growing pains. When Peter preached in Acts chapter 2 there were about three thousand who received Christ. Talk about church growth! This was an incredible blessing, but it brought its own set of problems. It was quickly realized that the leadership needed help in taking care of the needs of the church. In Acts 6:1-2, people were complaining because the daily needs of the widows were being neglected. In Acts 4:35 the new Christians were accustomed to giving to the needs of others, but without proper leadership, or enough of it, some were not taken care of properly. In Acts 6:2 it is apparent that the disciples had been pulled away from their responsibilities of preaching to fulfill the needs of the widows. These growing pains caused problems, but they were resolved. Later in the New Testament in Romans 12:13, Paul instructs them and us to contribute to the needs of the saints and to show hospitality.
Act 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
Act 6:1-2 “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.”
Act 4:35 “And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”
Romans 12:13 “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
God created us to always be growing as we seek to become more like Jesus. However, the majority of Christians are stagnant. They are unwilling to supply their mind and body with the proper things to make them grow. To become physically fit takes work, and there are periods during training that are painful. When muscles are stretched, and we increase the weight we are lifting, they become sore and hurt, but athletes understand that is part of the process. Yet, many quit at the first hint of pain and never achieve the desired outcome of a body that is physically working to its potential. If we are to be in good physical condition, we must provide a proper workout and proper nutrition for the body.
The same is true for those who want to grow spiritually. There are growing pains as we seek to change. However, if change is to happen, we must provide the proper nutrition for the spirit to grow. We must have spiritual food. When we work out our physical bodies we desire food and water. Our body craves it and until we eat and drink, it will not be satisfied. When we love Jesus we will crave spending time with him alone, reading His word, meditating on it, and praying to Him. In Psalm 1:1-3 we learn that the man who guards his life and stays away from the influence of those who do not love God will be blessed. His delight is in the word of God, and he meditates or thinks on it day and night. This person is gaining proper nutrition for spiritual growth. He has a desire to bring forth fruit to the master and he will prosper. He has growing pains as he sees himself the way God sees him. He wants to change and does change, but it can be painful. That pain may come as he must separate himself from friends who are an ungodly influence. It may be a habit he needs to give up or it may be time to branch out to do something for God that is out of his comfort zone.
Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
If we do not spend time seeking Him in the word and prayer, and it takes both, we will become weak and anemic. This makes us vulnerable to Satan. When we are weak, we cannot fight to full capacity, and we fail. If you are thinking, “I need to pray more, or I need to study more” those are convictions from the Holy Spirit. They are growing pains, and it is time to do something about it before you become so weak spiritually that you give up or become apathetic. In Colossians 2:6-7 we are challenged to continue in our faith and to abound in our growth. We are to keep seeking and keep growing until Jesus comes or we die. Do not ignore growing pains, embrace them and be thankful for them.
Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
