Day 1
Growth Requires Change
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:24
When a seed is planted, it is placed into a deep, dark hole and covered with earth. In this tomb of total darkness, the seed begins to die. It must die in order to grow. As death overtakes the seed, a new life starts to sprout from it. This sprout, knowing it must find the light, struggles upward, piercing the soil and breaking through to the glorious sun. As soon as it finds the sun, it begins to drink of it. It takes that sun and turns it into food, which in turn helps it to reach higher and higher. Over time the rain falls, the seasons change, and the little seed grows into a wispy sapling. As the sapling stretches its branches out to worship the source of its life, it grows stronger and bigger. And over time a mighty tree is formed.
So goes the process of a life developing in complete reliance on a source outside of itself in order to see growth within itself. And so goes the life grown in the Spirit. As a God Girl, your life is the result of a similar death and new birth. The death is rejecting your self in favor of the Father, saying, “I can’t do this life on my own. I need a truer source.” This is the symbolic burial in the dirt that leads to new life. In faith you put off your old self, which was broken and dirty, and you put on the new self, which lives by the power of the Son through the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 4:22–23). At the point when you recognized God as Lord of your life (see Rom. 10:9) and stopped trying to do it all on your own, you were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to counsel you, to comfort you, and to help you grow. This is the growth that we will be experiencing over the next 30 days: growth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the sun to your seed, to your sapling, and to your mighty tree. No matter where you are in the growth process, you are growing if you are God’s. And part of that growth is change. The seed that does not change does not grow but rots. So it goes that if God isn’t changing you, then he hasn’t saved you. For the God Girl, each day gives the hope of a new sprout, a new leaf, a new branch. And each day of growth makes you more like the image of the risen Christ—that is, each day is a step toward your perfection. And in that perfection is grown the fruit of the Spirit of God who lives in the believer. The fruit of the Spirit is the overflowing nature of the Holy Spirit within you, his very nature pouring out of you into the lives of those around you in the form of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Gal. 5:22–23).
Your life, God Girl, was meant to be fruitful, to yield an abundance of that which is the very nature of God himself. And so it shall be. You are not the same girl today as you were yesterday. And if you are willing to walk on the journey of abundance, then you will produce more fruit than you could possibly consume yourself, and you will yield a harvest big enough to nourish all of those around you. So let’s begin this journey together. Let’s dive into learning about the fruit of the Spirit and discover how it can overflow in our lives.
- Find It
Find the change—Change is an essential part of growth. Whether it’s small or big, change happens as God works in your life. But sometimes it can be hard to see God in the stuff of life, so today I want you to consider the past. Look back and find the times when God has intervened in your life. Not sure how to do this? That’s okay. It takes some practice. It goes like this: Look back and remember those things that you really wanted but never got to do or have. Then consider what good things you got or did instead. Think about the people who have come into your life too. Can you see God’s handprints on them, placing them just where you needed them?
What good came from the path you ended up on? Can you see how God saved you from getting what you wanted?
If you are honest with yourself, you can find at least one point in your life where God did his work and you missed it. But collecting these moments and thanking him for his invisible intervention is the beginning of learning to understand how God acts and seeing his hand in your life.
Looking back, what are you glad that you didn’t get?
What do you see now was for your best?
Can you see a moment when God intervened in your life and saved you from something bad?
Change is an essential part of growth. Look at your life before and your life now—what change do you see? In what ways are you better today than yesterday?
There is always room for growth, but today we aren’t looking at where you need to grow, just where you have already grown. Whether the change has been big or small, it’s time to take note of the things God has been doing in your life. And thank him for it!
Before we end today, let’s take some action of our own, shall we? Take time to pray and consider what you can do today to grow deeper in your faith.
Dear God, thank you for all of the times you have acted in my life. I’m sorry I missed them before, but I’m looking for them now. Thank you for second chances. Thanks for your forgiveness. Thanks for your Son. I love you and I’m looking for you. Amen.
- Look and Listen
Today, make an effort to see the hand of God and to listen to his voice—not his audible voice but the voice that whispers his holy Word into your soul. As he reminds you of a verse you’ve read, hear his voice. As he reminds you of his commands, listen. As you think of how he wants you to treat others, say thank you to him for speaking. And as he asks you to die to your sin nature and to live through his Spirit, say, “Yes, Lord!”
Look and listen today. See his hand in your daily life. And before you go to sleep at night, write it down.
What did God ask you to do today?
How did he reveal himself to you today?
What Scripture verse did he bring to your mind?
What part of you does he want to die that you might live?