Topic: Record What God Teaches You [RICK WARREN Devotional 17 July 2021]

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Record What God Teaches You

BY RICK WARREN — JULY 17, 2021

Hebrews 2:1 (The Message)As you grow to spiritual maturity, you’ll have to cooperate with God in the process. One way to do that is to believe God is working in your life, even when you don’t feel it.

Spiritual growth is sometimes tedious work—one small step at a time. Expect gradual improvement, not giant leaps.

The Bible says, “Everything on earth has its own time and its own season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV). Your spiritual life has seasons too. Sometimes you will have a short, intense burst of growth (spring) followed by a period of stabilizing and testing (fall and winter).

What about those problems, habits, and hurts you would like miraculously removed? It’s fine to pray for a miracle, but don’t be disappointed if the answer comes gradually. Over time, a slow, steady stream of water will erode the hardest rock and turn giant boulders into pebbles. Even a little sprout, given enough time, can turn into a giant redwood tree towering 350 tall.

To help you recognize your own spiritual growth, keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned. This is not a diary of events, but a record of what you are learning. Write down the insights and life lessons God teaches you about him, yourself, life, relationships, and everything else. These recorded lessons will become a sort of a spiritual growth chart. Record these lessons so you can review and remember them and pass them on to the next generation (see Psalm 102:18 and 2 Timothy 3:14).

When you forget lessons, you have to relearn them. Reviewing your spiritual journal regularly can help you remember what you’ve learned, sparing you a lot of unnecessary pain and heartache. The Bible says, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off” (Hebrews 2:1 The Message).

• How have you seen yourself grow in spiritual maturity in the last month? The last year?
• What season of spiritual growth are you in right now?
• What are some ways that you can keep a spiritual journal without having to use pen and paper? If you don’t have a spiritual journal already, commit to starting one this week.

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