Basic Growth Principles

Time, Adversity, and Sovereignty of God... Like any growth or training these three factors are at play in our spiritual growth. Like anything of complexity God chooses to form it over time, we need to learn to be patient in that process. God will also often use adversity to strengthen us, we need to learn perseverance in those hard times. God is also in complete control, we need to learn to trust Him even when things are not clear, and we don't understand.

The rings of a tree are an amazing illustration of this. Each ring indicates a year in the life of the tree, as you count all the rings one is overwhelmed by the history of the tree It has been produced after years and years of growth. But the darker rings, though skinny and showing limited growth strengthen the tree, that it may be strong enough for growth to continue.

God has a custom training program that he puts each of His children through. This program is filled with diverse experiences (Ecclesiastes 3), both joyful and hard. He doesn't follow some pattern like those often outlined in Christian Books, instead he personally trains us in a way that is specifically designed for us. I find this often very confusing when God is teaching me something, but I don't understand what it is. The training of Daniel by Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid comes to mind.

Daniel - "So"? You're supposed to teach and I'm supposed to learn. Four days I've been busting my ass, I haven't learned a thing.

Mr. Miyagi - You learn plenty.

Daniel - I've learned to sand your decks. I've waxed your car, I paint your house, paint your fence.

Mr. Miyagi - Not everything is as seems.

Daniel - Bullshit! I'm going home, man.

Mr. Miyagi - Daniel-san!

Daniel - What?

Mr. Miyagi - Come here.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me sand the floor.

Daniel - I can't move my arm, all right?

Daniel - What are you doing? What are you doing?

Mr. Miyagi - Now show me sand the floor.

Daniel - How did you do that?

Mr. Miyagi - Show!

Daniel - Sand the floor?

Mr. Miyagi - Stand up.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Big circle. Sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Now show me wax on, wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Wax on, wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - "Wax on, wax off!"

Mr. Miyagi - Wax on...

Mr. Miyagi - ...wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Concentrate. Look in my eyes.

Mr. Miyagi - Lock your hand, thumb inside.

Mr. Miyagi - Wax on...

Mr. Miyagi - ...wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Wax on...

Mr. Miyagi - ...wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Wax on.

Mr. Miyagi - Wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me paint the fence. Up, down.

Mr. Miyagi - Up.

Mr. Miyagi - Down.

Mr. Miyagi - Up.

Mr. Miyagi - Down.

Mr. Miyagi - Other side. Look eye. Always look eye!

Mr. Miyagi - Show me paint the house. Side, side.

Mr. Miyagi - Lock wrist. Side, side.

Mr. Miyagi - Side, side.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me wax on, wax off.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me paint the fence.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me side, side.

Mr. Miyagi - Show me sand the floor.

Mr. Miyagi - Look eye! Always look eye.

Mr. Miyagi - Come back tomorrow.

Daniel is frustrated, he feels that Mr. Miyagi is taking advantage of him. He has been waxing his car, sanding the floor, and painting his fence and house. When is the training going to begin? But the training has already begun, and its in a way that Daniel never would have predicted. He has learned discipline in the following through with the tasks that Mr. Miyagi asked. He has also built up his physical strength as he has worked hard on these tasks. Little did he know he was also learning muscle memory for block moves that he could use in karate. This is not unlike the experiences we have in our own life. Times of heart-ache, death, and adversity occur throughout life. We may feel cheated and wonder what God is doing. But these can be experiences that leave us in frustration, or they can be used by God to shape maturity in our lives. We need to learn to trust God and how He teaches us.