Text- 1 Peter 2:2- “And be as nursing infants, and yearn for the word as for pure and spiritual milk by which you shall grow strong for life”
I explained yesterday that we, as humans, are preoccupied with the concept of growth, but that not everyone pays close attention to their all-round growth.
I also mentioned yesterday, that there are generally three kinds of growth that we must experience in life, and went on to talk about two of them – Growing old and Growing up. Today we will talk about the third kind of growth that we must experience in life:
3. Growing Strong
In our text today, we are admonished to yearn for the word as for pure and spiritual milk by which we shall grow strong for life.
Elihu, Job’s friend, said in Job 32, starting from verse 7: “I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”
There is a kind wisdom that age and experience cannot offer; there is a kind of growth that far outweighs growing old and growing up. This kind of growth is what I call Growing Strong (Spiritual Growth). According to Elihu, it takes the inspiration of the Almighty to attain this dimension of growth.
2Timothy 3:16 says that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”. By effect, the scripture, being a product of divine inspiration is the spiritual milk which nourishes us unto growing strong spiritually.
You see, the only occupation of a baby; the only thing that new born babies exert effort in doing is sucking milk. That is how much they desire it! Beloved, your desire for the word of God must be that serious… be as nursing infants, and yearn for the word as for pure and spiritual milk by which you shall grow strong for life.
The word of God is such an important part of our growth, so much so that it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”
I want you to understand that spiritual growth is a life-long journey which progresses as you read and apply God's Word to your life daily. Spiritual growth occurs as we allow ourselves to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained by God's Word.
Starting from today, evaluate yourself on these grounds to know if there is a process of spiritual growth going on in your life: - Are you increasing in your knowledge and understanding of God's Word? - Are you decreasing in your frequency and severity of sin? - Are you becoming Christ-like more and more? - Is your faith and trust in God increasing by the day? - Are you maturing in your ability to recognize God’s voice?
The questions above will give you a good hint as to whether you are growing spiritually or not.
Remember, the food that nourishes us unto Spiritual growth is the Word of God. Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). Be like Job!
PRAYER
I make a conscious decision today to lend myself to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained by God's Word every day of my life. Lord, help me to grow strong spiritually through your word in Jesus Name.
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