Growing Pains

Good afternoon and Thankful Thursday. As a boy I remember how I was becoming a teen. My voice started getting deeper. My attraction towards girls got more intense. And my commitment to God was becoming less. I was going through what some would call Growing Pains.

In beginning this teaching I want to define the phrase Growing Pains and I will go to my source of definitions and that is dictionary.com. Growing pains means as follows; dull pain of varying degree

in limbs during childhood, emotional difficulties experienced during adolescence; and difficulties attending to rapid development. As a men and women of faith there are times when we still have Growing Pains.

In going to the Word of God for this teaching of Growing Pains I begin in Exodus 15:22-24. The people of God has just sang songs about how heroic Moses and Miriam were and three days later

they were complaining about lack of water. We as a people of God at times have varying degrees of pain early on in our walk with Christ and have been known to have Growing Pains.

In going back to the Word of God for the teaching of Growing Pains I go to Ezra 9:1-3. In this passage after the people of God received a special blessing and was able to return to their land they

begin to have emotional difficulties experienced during adolescence as they married people that they were not supposed to. As in this passage where it was the leaders who were mostly at fault at times our leaders are leading us into Growing Pains instead of the right direction.

In coming to the conclusion of the Biblical portion of the Word of God for the teaching of Growing Pains I go to Revelation 3:1-3. In this passage Jesus is speaking to John and telling him of the dead

church. The church had already been established but were having difficulties attending to rapid development. This is a problem for the church of today as we are having Growing Pains.

In closing we as a people of God must come up with a plan to defeat the onslaught of Growing Pains. Those new to the Body of Christ at times do not make it three days before the world has reclaimed them. Our leaders are doing things that is not of the Word of God that is stopping the advancement of the Kingdom of God. And some churches are so traditional and waiting for people to come to them rather than go out into the world that they have become dead. Growing Pains must be looked at by all.  I give God all the glory and honor for this teaching and may someone be blessed by this teaching. Amen