Nature is no spendthrift, but takes the shortest way to her ends.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Growth is a phenomenon of nature. I cannot push it, shape it, make it happen.
I can only do the footwork, endure the pain and know that the results are not up to me, but up to God.
There is struggle in the growth process; pride, ego and misused will, stand in the way and must be overcome gradually, with understanding and com-passion. Pain is always the teacher, but with each period of growth it becomes less acute. Growth is the opposite of control. Another term for it is learning to let go and let God.
Key Bible Verses to let go and let God:
Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God."
Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
1 Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
It is a process of letting go of your own way to allow God's will to be done.
And that is a subject I can only expect to get better at, not master.
For today: Do I really need to be in control — which is wasted motion, really — or can I trust in God?
Then I can let today be a wonderful surprise.