He will be like a tree firmly
planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in its season.
PSALM 1:3 NASB
“Grow up!” is a taunt often used by teenagers to their peers who, for whatever reason, aren’t acting as mature as they should at the moment. The command is given with the attitude that the other person can simply make a choice to immediately grow up.
Commanding a friend to grow up doesn’t do any more good than it would to tell a tree to grow up. There is a process that must take place, and that process takes time. Every living thing requires certain elements in order to grow—good soil, the appropriate amounts of sunshine and water, and plenty of time.
People, like trees, need a good start in order to be rooted securely. Young saplings can’t mature into beautiful and tall shade trees without the right mixture of sun, water, rich soil, and space. As long as a tree is living, it never stops growing and never outgrows its need for nourishment. Most importantly, this process takes time—and lots of it.
In God’s perfect timing, we will indeed “grow up.” Like a baby taking the first steps, so we must be willing to let nature take its course. The growth process is a long one, and it is never really complete. Flourishing trees don’t strain to grow. They merely follow the natural process God planted in them. And healthy trees don’t decide to just ignore the nourishment of sun, rain, and soil. Instead, they continually draw life from these things.
No matter what our “season” of life, growing up is a continuous process—and it all happens in God’s time.