persistence. it's something most Christians need to work on. the oft-used phrase to describe this work is
[spiritual discipline]
it's something that as someone who works with youth as a Young Life leader, i understand quite a bit, both from personal growth, and the spiritual coaching that comes with my role.
i see it every fall.
as the seasons change and the leaves die and the days get shorter...
...the depression spells get longer and the addictions seem tougher and the battles get harder.
all fall and winter long, we [struggle] in the dead of it all, we [struggle] to keep our heads up. i push and i pray and i fall to my knees and cover my students with prayer. i get down to the nitty-gritty and fight the battles alongside of them.
i have been so blessed by what i have seen come out of these battles.
- students who see breakthroughs on their battles with addiction and lust
- true understanding of the power and majesty of God
- late-night rescues from the throes of depression and anxiety
- convictions of sins and dedications of change.
...all in the powerful name of JESUS...
**but here's what worries me**
i see it happen every year, especially in youth ministry.
with the warmer weather and the brighter days and the chance to be outdoors, we see [new life] springing up.
people get more happy, more confident, more content.
as Gungor says, "hope is springing UP from this old ground".
but with the new life of spring, up come the WEEDS.
Friends, when spring arrives, lots of green comes up out of the soil. We rejoice with the new life. But the problem is...with that green comes some weeds. We're so happy to see the SUN and to be [outside] that we often get overconfident.
...we have OTHER things to do now.
Sure, sitting inside on a Friday night doing a Bible study is fine when it's -20 out...but in the spring? nah, let's go play outside! Let's go hang out and do other things!
Our overall mood is lifted from sullen and dead, to alive and happy, so much so that we often foresake the need to cling to God that we felt in the winter. In the WINTER so much dies off, that it comes to the point of just [us and God]. We feel as though we have no choice but to rely on him.
But in the SPRING when everything sprouts up, we have so much life. It's just...are we getting life from the right things???
Don't get me wrong! Spending time outside and hanging out with friends are not bad things! Just don't FORESAKE God in it!
Because here's the thing. In the spring, the WEEDS that mix in with the GOOD STUFF springing up... well, they're easy to pull up, but they're harder to identify. But any good farmer can tell you...
[DON'T WAIT!]
Because once those [weeds] take hold, they will be a lot harder to extract, and it might just take another WINTER season in your life to kill everything off to realize how much you need God.
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**With the SPRINGTIME GROWTH will come CUNNING WEEDS. They may be hard to tell, and not seem that dangerous, but you need to make sure [NOTHING] is choking you out from being deeply rooted in God.
Matthew 13:24-30.
In His Grip,
-J
