Sanctification - Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

The Journey

May 2, 2019 by Ellen 4 Comments

The scripture stopped me cold. I knew EXACTLY what the Israelites were feeling.

“Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey” Numbers 21:4 NLT

That’s me to a tee! Impatient! Ready to BE there, wherever there is. Ready to be done with the journey, and get on with life.

Take writing, for instance. It’s hard work. It takes TIME. I’d love for the Lord to grant me divine revelation so that a post I’m working on would literally write itself. But I have to take the long road. Do the work. Put one foot in front of the other and write the words. Then comes editing and arranging them, so they make sense, tell a story. I have to dig deep to figure out my emotions and why I’m writing this particular piece. It’s hard and slow work. I want to be at the destination! Why can’t I write because of His creative revelation in me, instead of practice, practice, practice?

And studying God’s Word. Why can’t I understand God’s Word through divine revelation from Him, instead of hours, days, years of studying? To really dig deep into God’s Words takes time. It takes dedication. It takes patience. And I’ve always been in short supply of patience. Anybody else?

I glance out the window and see my beautiful lemon and orange trees. They are full of blooms, promising a bumper harvest of fruit this year! Those blooms fill me with anticipation of fresh oranges plucked straight from the tree, juice dripping on the grass while we eat them outside. The lemons remind me I’ll be able to bring fresh lemon pie to our Christmas gathering. But not now. I’ll have to wait months to enjoy all the fresh fruit.

Fast growth fizzles out too early. One year, I accidentally over fertilized my gladiolas. Instead of tall, elegant stems with bright fuchsia flowers, I had greenish brown stumps, stunted and wrinkled. Already finished, before they even began. Their leaves were scorched from the chemical. Burned out.

Don’t burn out. Grow slow!

That’s how God wants to grow us. Slow and steady. Growth that lasts! While we are impatient with the long journey and not seeing instant results, He is patiently and slowly growing us to bear fruit.

What are you rushing through? What shortcuts are you taking? How can you slow down and enjoy the journey you are traveling with the Lord?

Grace be with you,

Growing All the Way to Heaven

July 17, 2015 by Ellen 8 Comments

“Granny, how big will they get?”

“These are small zinnias, they’ll only be about 12 inches tall.”

“Granny, I wish they would grow all the way to heaven! What can we plant that will grow that high?”

“Why, I can’t think of a thing! Everything on earth has a limit to its growth. Even you, even me! I won’t ever get any taller. And once you’re an adult, you’ll stop growing taller, too! Everything stops growing eventually.”

Except our relationship with Jesus Christ…

There was a season – decades, actually – in my life that had no spiritual growth. I knew Jesus as my Savior, but our relationship didn’t get much further than that. Because of my circumstances, and eventually my choice, I stopped attending church. I very rarely read my Bible, and my prayer life did not exist. Well, except for the emergency flare prayers, when I was in a bind. I definitely wasn’t growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

Have you ever had a wilderness wandering – not growing, not deepening your faith in Jesus? Maybe you’re there now. I think most of us go through this from time to time – although hopefully not for decades! We become complacent where we are. Comfortable. Or, in my case, just plain stagnant.

But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.2 Peter 3:18 (GNT)

God’s word tells us to grow in Christ. This is a continual growth. One that never ends. How on earth can we do this? I’ve had days that my actions and words scream “This Christian girl’s not growing!” That’s when I start thinking “What’s the use? I’ll never get it.”

How about you? Do you ever feel like giving up, coasting? Don’t do it! Sometimes growth is taking one step forward and two steps back. We learn from our mistakes. It builds character in us. But should we stop? No, indeed.

[tweetthis]Our Christian growth should be non-stop, not non-existent.[/tweetthis]

How can we be constantly growing in our knowledge of Christ? The best place to start is in His word. After God drew me back to Himself, I discovered that I absolutely love scripture. God’s word builds and strengthens us. It’s there we will find Jesus, and find out about Him. We’ll see His story woven through history.

But there’s another way to be ever growing: Stretch yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Step out in obedience to Him, even when you don’t feel equipped to do so. Why? Our faith is made stronger. You and I will experience more of Him as we learn to trust. We will have first hand knowledge of Jesus, as we experience Him daily.

This builds our history with Him. We can look back and see the ways Jesus has provided for us, how He’s loved on us. When you and I look back, we will see the times He’s been there, even when we didn’t realize it in the moment. And, we can look forward with delight to the ways He will lavish us with His strength and grace.

Our constant growth honors and glorifies Jesus. The more we grow, the more we become like Him. Think if we were all intentional about our spiritual growth. Imagine all of us looking more like Jesus in our actions and words, at home and at work. Think of the multitude of lights that would be shining in this dark world!

Let’s keep on growing, all the way to heaven!

How are you continually growing in Christ? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

Until next week,