We say that we want to change. We say that we want more in life. We have been praying and praying but to no avail. We wonder why God isn’t changing us or answering our prayers. We say that we want to live the life that is available through Jesus but what have we been doing to help that happen? God did not make us as puppets. He did give us choices. And no matter what God wants to do in us and for us there is a part that we have to do because we are partners with God. We can know everything that there is to know about what the bible says on living a good life but just knowing it does no good. If we do not put into practice the things that we know or that we learn we will never grow or change the way that we want to and the way that God intends for us to.

 It is true that we have everything that we need in our spirit to be all that we can be and to have a great life but it is there in a seed form and it has to grow into maturity (where it is seen on the outside of us/in our lives). Everything that the bible tells us to do or not to do are all things that make for us to have a great life. But until we start to do what it says we will not experience it. This whole process is what we call spiritual maturity. It is growing into the person that we were created to be by God and not corrupted by the world’s view. It is living for a higher calling than oneself. We will never be able to be truly happy as long as we are living only to satisfy ourselves because that is not what we were created to do. There is no better feeling than to be of help to someone else and that is because we are doing God’s will. Growing spiritually is how we maintain our joy and our peace. It is how we are able to learn how to deal the struggles in life and not be crushed by them. It is how we learn to hear from God, follow the Holy Spirit, and be in God’s will for our lives. And it is how we do what is in the best interest of not only ourselves but for others as well.

 When we are growing Spiritually we are doing what God wants us to do. The things that He wants us to do are all things that are in the best interest of our well-being as well as others. For example, do you let your emotions control you and in the end you end up with regret or guilt for actions that you have taken or do you control your emotions? Do you get impatient easily which causes you to have negative feelings such as anxiety or fustration which can also cause you to treat someone poorly and then you have the guilt and shame about that or can you patiently wait through things? Being spiritually mature means that you can have the feelings but not act upon them and do something that God would not want you to do and that would cause you to have negative feelings towards yourself. We can experience true joy and peace when we learn to not let our own desires/will or emotions control us and instead choose to let the seeds in our Spirit grow and take over.

 We can want these things or many other things in our lives but just wanting them will not bring them about. We can pray about them but just prayer will probably not make them happen. There is usually something that God has for us to do in the process of bringing about what it is that we want. Like I said He did not create us as puppets on a string that He can make do what He wants, but He created us with our own will and choices. He wants us to use our will to do His will, but He will not make us do it. If He did everything for us then we would never learn how to do anything on our own nor would we know the power that we have through Him. He gives us the power or the tools that we need to do a thing but we have to take the action of doing it. And in the beginning it will not be easy to deny our own desires/will or our feelings. It may actually be one of the hardest things that we have ever done. But from experience I can tell you that the very 1st time that you do deny them there is a certain amount of power that they lose over you and it will get a little bit easier each time that you do.

 We can pray and pray and pray or want and want and want BUT until we decide to get in alignment with God and partner up with Him, and do our part, nothing will probably happen. Growing Spiritually is the number one way to be able to be in alignment with Him on all things. It is a life long process but it is a process that can be enjoyable every second of it. Change doesn’t have to be miserable when we have the right perspective about it. Change is that we are growing into all that God created us to be and to have the life that He intended for us to have. We have the best partner beside us and the best coach that we could ever have but we have to willing work with Him if we want to see the change, to be our best, and enjoy our lives.