Joyful Living Devotional - Day 31
Day 31 – Training Towards Maturity
Philippians 3:15-16 (NLT) 15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Like a skilled craftsman or an expert builder, Paul is putting the pieces together for the Philippians. This letter of gratitude for their generosity and love becomes an instruction manual for joyful living. The key to it all is embracing the attitude and mind of Christ Jesus, through which all actions flow, resulting in the maturity necessary for spiritual progress. Paul wants the Philippians to understand that maturity is not a destination to reach but a process to embrace.
Knowing that we are saved by grace, not by human effort, is the starting point. Following Jesus means leaning on what He has done for us rather than on our own efforts to obey the law. All our self-effort is nothing but garbage to be tossed aside, and we boast only in knowing Christ Jesus. In fact, knowing Jesus is our greatest desire, our highest hope, our deepest pursuit, and our most passionate longing. We want to know Christ, not from a superficial “I am going to heaven, now I can do what I want” attitude, but with the cry of our heart to know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His suffering.
We know we are not there yet, however, we press on, reach, lay hold of, and pursue that mark of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Jesus laid hold of us for a purpose, and now we lay hold of Him so that we may obey what He has asked of us. WE CALL THAT MATURITY! It enables us to hold on to the progress we have made, rather than taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps backward. We steadily make progress, keep the ground we have gained, and refuse to be trapped in an unending cycle of regret. We press, we focus, we forget, we look, we reach, and we keep moving forward.
Paul writes: “Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things” (Phillipians 3:15a NLT). Maturity means recognizing what is good and beneficial for our spiritual progress and what hinders it. We don’t want to remain infants, we want to grow to maturity. And we know that means we are willing to embrace God’s process and persevere through trials and tests, regardless of how we feel. Maturity is not a feeling, a sudden revelation, or even an act of operating in a greater gift. It is the acceptance of responsibility for what the Lord requires of us.
“Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Some people mature into an understanding of God’s will more quickly than others because they obey more readily; they more readily sacrifice the life of nature to the will of God.”
– Oswald Chambers
Maturity means we can handle solid food and digest the hard truth. We can live in the healthy tension between truth and grace without compromising the truth of God’s Word or short-circuiting the tenderness of God’s grace. Maturity knows what to embrace and what to reject because our spiritual senses have been trained to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:13-14 (NIV) 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Maturity knows that without grace, truth can be perceived as brutality, but without truth, grace can become hypocrisy. Maturity seeks God’s will, not man’s idea of God’s will. Maturity is being willing to change or admit when wrong. Paul writes: “If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you” (Phillipians 3:15b NLT). One of the greatest qualities of a mature follower of Jesus is the willingness to wait for God’s timing and to trust in the midst of great testing. Mature followers of Christ do not follow Jesus because life is always good, just, and full of blessings. They know that they are in a process, and that process could include hard, challenging days. They know the world they live in is broken, but Christ has made them whole, and one day all of creation will be made whole through the power of His resurrection. They persevere because they know that even persevering in difficulty is working towards their maturity.
James 1:4 (NIV) Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
“Everything you go through as a Christian is a training exercise behind which God has a divine purpose. He did not save you so that you could cruise into paradise on a luxury liner; He saved you to prepare you to be of use in His kingdom. The moment you were born again, He enrolled you in His school of suffering. And every affliction, every trial, is another lesson in the curriculum.”
– David Wilkerson
Maturity is the ability to keep things in the right perspective. To hold on to what is good, to reject what is evil, to grow from the challenges, and to move beyond yesterday. To look through the lens of God’s mercy and, in humility, embrace a new direction without undoing what we have been taught in the past. To build God’s kingdom together with other like-minded, mature followers of Jesus, with our eyes on the reward, which is Christ Himself.
Maturity in Christ helps us hold on to the progress we have made, as shown in our willingness to choose joy despite our circumstances. The most mature among us are the most joyful. As Paul encourages us, “So let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things” (Philippians 3:15a NLT). If you disagree, just ask the Lord. He will make it plain.
Prayer:
Adapted from Psalm 131 (ISV) and Psalm 141:1-5a (ISV):
Psalm 131 (ISV) 1 Lord, my heart is not arrogant, nor do I look haughty. I do not aspire to great things, nor concern myself with things beyond my ability. 2 Instead, I have composed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother; I am like a weaned child. 3 I place my hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
Psalm 141:1-5a (ISV) 1 Lord, I call to you, be quick to listen to me when I cry out! 2 Let my prayer be like incense offered before you, and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. 3 Lord, set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door to my lips. 4 Don’t let my heart turn toward evil or involve itself in wicked activities with men who practice iniquity. Let me not feast on their delicacies. 5 Let one who is righteous strike me; It is an act of gracious love. Let him rebuke me, because it is oil for my head; do not let my head refuse it.
Your Word says, “An open rebuke is better than unspoken love. Wounds from someone who loves are trustworthy, but kisses from an enemy speak volumes” (Proverbs 27:5-6). I incline my ear to hear, my heart to understand, and my feet to walk in Your ways. Thank You for leading me to maturity so that I may discern by Your Spirit and through Your Word what is good, pleasant, and pleasing to You.
Help me continue to grow in Your grace and to be rooted in Your truth. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Philippians 3:15-16 (NLT) 15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Like a skilled craftsman or an expert builder, Paul is putting the pieces together for the Philippians. This letter of gratitude for their generosity and love becomes an instruction manual for joyful living. The key to it all is embracing the attitude and mind of Christ Jesus, through which all actions flow, resulting in the maturity necessary for spiritual progress. Paul wants the Philippians to understand that maturity is not a destination to reach but a process to embrace.
Knowing that we are saved by grace, not by human effort, is the starting point. Following Jesus means leaning on what He has done for us rather than on our own efforts to obey the law. All our self-effort is nothing but garbage to be tossed aside, and we boast only in knowing Christ Jesus. In fact, knowing Jesus is our greatest desire, our highest hope, our deepest pursuit, and our most passionate longing. We want to know Christ, not from a superficial “I am going to heaven, now I can do what I want” attitude, but with the cry of our heart to know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His suffering.
We know we are not there yet, however, we press on, reach, lay hold of, and pursue that mark of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Jesus laid hold of us for a purpose, and now we lay hold of Him so that we may obey what He has asked of us. WE CALL THAT MATURITY! It enables us to hold on to the progress we have made, rather than taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps backward. We steadily make progress, keep the ground we have gained, and refuse to be trapped in an unending cycle of regret. We press, we focus, we forget, we look, we reach, and we keep moving forward.
Paul writes: “Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things” (Phillipians 3:15a NLT). Maturity means recognizing what is good and beneficial for our spiritual progress and what hinders it. We don’t want to remain infants, we want to grow to maturity. And we know that means we are willing to embrace God’s process and persevere through trials and tests, regardless of how we feel. Maturity is not a feeling, a sudden revelation, or even an act of operating in a greater gift. It is the acceptance of responsibility for what the Lord requires of us.
“Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Some people mature into an understanding of God’s will more quickly than others because they obey more readily; they more readily sacrifice the life of nature to the will of God.”
– Oswald Chambers
Maturity means we can handle solid food and digest the hard truth. We can live in the healthy tension between truth and grace without compromising the truth of God’s Word or short-circuiting the tenderness of God’s grace. Maturity knows what to embrace and what to reject because our spiritual senses have been trained to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:13-14 (NIV) 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Maturity knows that without grace, truth can be perceived as brutality, but without truth, grace can become hypocrisy. Maturity seeks God’s will, not man’s idea of God’s will. Maturity is being willing to change or admit when wrong. Paul writes: “If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you” (Phillipians 3:15b NLT). One of the greatest qualities of a mature follower of Jesus is the willingness to wait for God’s timing and to trust in the midst of great testing. Mature followers of Christ do not follow Jesus because life is always good, just, and full of blessings. They know that they are in a process, and that process could include hard, challenging days. They know the world they live in is broken, but Christ has made them whole, and one day all of creation will be made whole through the power of His resurrection. They persevere because they know that even persevering in difficulty is working towards their maturity.
James 1:4 (NIV) Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
“Everything you go through as a Christian is a training exercise behind which God has a divine purpose. He did not save you so that you could cruise into paradise on a luxury liner; He saved you to prepare you to be of use in His kingdom. The moment you were born again, He enrolled you in His school of suffering. And every affliction, every trial, is another lesson in the curriculum.”
– David Wilkerson
Maturity is the ability to keep things in the right perspective. To hold on to what is good, to reject what is evil, to grow from the challenges, and to move beyond yesterday. To look through the lens of God’s mercy and, in humility, embrace a new direction without undoing what we have been taught in the past. To build God’s kingdom together with other like-minded, mature followers of Jesus, with our eyes on the reward, which is Christ Himself.
Maturity in Christ helps us hold on to the progress we have made, as shown in our willingness to choose joy despite our circumstances. The most mature among us are the most joyful. As Paul encourages us, “So let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things” (Philippians 3:15a NLT). If you disagree, just ask the Lord. He will make it plain.
Prayer:
Adapted from Psalm 131 (ISV) and Psalm 141:1-5a (ISV):
Psalm 131 (ISV) 1 Lord, my heart is not arrogant, nor do I look haughty. I do not aspire to great things, nor concern myself with things beyond my ability. 2 Instead, I have composed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother; I am like a weaned child. 3 I place my hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
Psalm 141:1-5a (ISV) 1 Lord, I call to you, be quick to listen to me when I cry out! 2 Let my prayer be like incense offered before you, and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. 3 Lord, set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door to my lips. 4 Don’t let my heart turn toward evil or involve itself in wicked activities with men who practice iniquity. Let me not feast on their delicacies. 5 Let one who is righteous strike me; It is an act of gracious love. Let him rebuke me, because it is oil for my head; do not let my head refuse it.
Your Word says, “An open rebuke is better than unspoken love. Wounds from someone who loves are trustworthy, but kisses from an enemy speak volumes” (Proverbs 27:5-6). I incline my ear to hear, my heart to understand, and my feet to walk in Your ways. Thank You for leading me to maturity so that I may discern by Your Spirit and through Your Word what is good, pleasant, and pleasing to You.
Help me continue to grow in Your grace and to be rooted in Your truth. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Posted in Joyful Living Devotional