SPIRITUAL GIANT
"Put a rock on that boy's head! He's growing too fast!" I always thought that turn of phrase
was a little insane until my youngest, Will, grew eight (yes, EIGHT) inches in one
year. Seemingly overnight he went from being my little boy to becoming a young man
towering, at nearly 6'3" tall, way above my head and shoulder line. "What are you feeding that
boy?" my friends asked.
When I see rapid progress in others, it's inevitable to wonder how it happened. What makes
people move forward, get three lanes ahead in traffic, accomplish with seeming ease things I
have been struggling to overcome forEVER? I don't understand how people move from point
A to point B so quickly, especially when I feel like I'm standing still. I don't want to be passed
up, left behind, less mature. I want growth now. Like, NOW.
The temptation is to be envious of those who are growing fast...to watch their business take off,
their client list explode, their income increase dramatically. Why isn't that working for me, I
wonder? I'm as smart, as capable, as invested as they. Not too long ago, a person I know
created a beautiful online presence, had a bevy of social media followers, and I knew her to be
kind of a flake, if you know what I mean, and if I'm being real about it! "Look at this!" I
shoved my phone in my daughter's face. "Can you believe it? What does that chick have that I
don't!?" Pitiful, isn't it? These feelings that flower all too easily and express themselves in ugly
little thoughts. Am I being too honest? Too transparent? Too revealing of my smallness?
Is there a rock on MY head? Am I not eating the right things? Taking the right courses? Doing
what it takes to grow?
Growth takes time.
It may have felt like Will's growth from boy to man happened overnight, but it was actually a
result of, now, nearly twenty-five years of process - physical, mental, chemical, biological -
that transformed his short little-boy legs to long (really, really long, 36" inseam long) legs.
Puberty hit, and the changes that had previously come in increments too small to observe
suddenly burst into view. We noticed that, for the better part of a year, his pants were what we
in Appalachia call "high water britches." His ankles were cold all that winter because his pants
were too short, until he peaked at his 6'3ish total height. The accumulated growth of the
previous few years culminated in an 8-inch growth spurt in one year.
Doesn't growth always come in increments? No child wakes up on her third or fourth birthday
and declares, "I'm going to conquer a motorcycle today!" Rather, she'll start with a Big Wheel,
then a tricycle, advance to training wheels, and eventually, the full-size bicycle that she pedals
all by herself. Eventually, she becomes the biker babe she's always dreamed of being! (Over
her daddy's dead body, I presume.)
Just as no infant is born 6'3" tall (thank you, Jesus!), we are not created for instant success and
growth. The process takes time.
Our growth in life and business is often behind the scenes, particularly if we are keeping in step
with the Holy Spirit's work on our character and on increasing our wisdom and skill set. One of
my devotions this week describes the process this way: "[Jesus] involved [the disciples] in a
consistent growing relationship with Himself. Jesus took them through teaching, to small
miracles, to large miracles, and to the resurrection." They learned through time, teaching, and
experience also to do miracles themselves. Growth is a process.
Often, I beat myself up for not conquering instantly an area in which I need growth. For
example, "The tongue, who can tame it!?" the Bible posits (James 3:8), and I lament that I've
not harnessed the dern thing yet. But the increments of growth are evident if I look for them.
I've developed a filter (who knew! lol); I'm not so quick to speak as I was just a few years ago;
I don't always have to be heard (my opinion is not that important. Again, who knew!? lol).
Progress! And with more time and effort, I will continue to grow in this area.
In business, I find the same kind of impatience. I want immediate responses and immediate
returns. One post on social media, one marketing strategy, and I think I should see expansive
growth right now.
During Will's 8-inch leg-lengthening process, his body was doing lots of work behind the
scenes, consistently preparing him (leg aches and growing pains included!) for what appears to
be overnight success. As I've heard countless masters explain, overnight success looks a lot like
years of consistent attention to the behind-the-scenes stuff, like Michael Jordan's millions of
practice free throws and Thomas Edison's thousands of light bulbs that didn't work.
We must be dedicated to the behind-the-scenes invisible work of growth long before we see the
actual results.
Growth takes the right food.
When my older son Sam was going through puberty, our family would drink 3-4 gallons of
milk a week, and by "my family," I mean SAM! ?? When he passed away, it took me about two
months to realize why we weren't using so much milk anymore and I was having to pour
gallons of it out because it expired before we could drink it. That boy was feeding his body
cereal three or four times a day for snacks, and then running off all those carbs with 5-6 miles of
sprints and cross country runs. He avoided carbonated drinks, staying up too late, and he fueled
up with proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
It's so important to consume the right things to fuel our growth. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us to "grow
in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." There's no better fuel for
grace and knowledge of Jesus than the Word and Prayer.
Scripture is the "milk" (and the Apostle Paul admonishes us to move from milk to meat!) that
fuels our progress; prayer is the exercise than burns the fuel to produce muscles that move
mountains! Prayer flexes faith! If I want to see a muscular faith, it'll take a steady diet of truth
through God's word, and exercise through prayer.
If I want to see success in my business, it'll take a steady diet of courage-courage to try new
things, to learn new skills, to put myself "out there,", and exercise through consistency and
discipline. Again, progress may not be immediately visible. In fact, most coaches say it takes 30
days to get started, 60 days to see the change begin to have an effect, and 90 days to start seeing
the fruit of our labors! Can you give your growth just 90 days? You'll be amazed what the
consistency and discipline will produce.
Growth can be stunted.
A rock on Will's head probably wouldn't have stopped his inevitable growth, but it could have
been stunted by other factors - diet, exercise, or an environment not conducive to his
development. As Christians, we can refuse to grow. The prophet Jeremiah recorded God's word
to his people, "They turned their back to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and
again, they would not listen or respond to discipline." (Jer. 32:33)
Sometimes, you have to tell yourself no so you can say "YES!" to God. If I insist on growing
my way, I'll stunt the growth that could have been possible had I listened and obeyed God. I
must be careful not to stunt my growth with ignorance, or willfulness, or assuming that God is
useful to me only to help me get what I want. If God is a means to an end, the end is your god.
I can stunt my growth by being undisciplined. Proverbs tells us that "Whoever disregards
discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored" (Proverbs
13:18) I can stunt my growth by thinking work is beneath me, or that I'm too good to do that,
whatever that is. "Wisdom's instruction is to fear the LORD, and humility comes before
honor." Proverbs 15:33. Being unaware of my strengths and weaknesses can hinder my growth.
And being unwilling to be uncomfortable will limit how much you grow.
I don't want to cut my legs out from under me by stunting my growth in faith or in business.
Growth uses what you got.
Andre the Giant, said to have been 7" 4" tall and weighing 520 pounds, had a hormonal
disorder in which the pituitary gland releases excess growth hormone. The disorder can cause
gigantism in children, which happened to Andre when he began to grow taller around the age of
14. Continued growth resulted in his enlarged head, hands, feet, and chest and contributed to his
congestive heart failure and death at age 46. Andre once declared, "What God gave me, I use it
to make a living," and his size helped him conquer the world of wrestling. He used what he was
given to grow into the Eighth Wonder of the World, as he was known in wrestling circles, and
to play a character in the beloved film, The Princess Bride.
You have been given unique gifts and a unique identity specially designed by God to be used
for His glory. If you want to see growth, explore and magnify who you are, Whose you are, and
the untapped potential created IN you.
Peter wrote, "Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us
... So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic
faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent
wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the
others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your
feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master
Jesus. 2 Peter 1:3a, 5-8 MSG
Our rewards are maturity, growth, success!
I've heard it said that if you're still living, you're still growing. As long as I'm willing to grow,
"eating" the Word, leaning into the process, and exercising my spiritual muscles through prayer,
my growth will be inevitable. I'm not all grown up yet; I'm not supposed to be. I must commit
to and trust the process until "...we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is
Christ." (Ephesians 4:15b)
I only hope that I can be spiritual giant, at least 6'3" tall!
Father,
Growth isn't always easy. I remember Will's growing pains in that year of tremendous growth,
when he had to go through aches and pains as his body pushed him into maturity. I pray, Father,
that we are willing to go through discomfort as You grow us into the image of Christ. Thank
you for being with us and for us through the growth process! I ask that our growth
hormones/our spiritual food will be working in us until the day we make the next leap, from
glory to glory to maturity and effectiveness in the Kingdom. I pray for our businesses... that
we'd see growth and realize that it attributable to Your work in us and through us, and that we'd
not lose a single minute of building on what we've been given for our good and Your glory. In
Jesus' name, Amen!
I've been working with ten amazing women through a Mastermind called His Power at Work. If
you want to invest in spiritual and business growth, the Mastermind might be for you! Check it
out at talkandpray.us/mastermind. The next 90 days round will begin in just a few weeks!
