One of my main jobs as a missionary is to train others, especially those who are preparing to serve the Lord with their lives. As I have mentioned before, the longer we are in the ministry here, this becomes a bigger part of what we do and where we invest the most of our time. While there are many lessons and Bible principles that I try to share with them, one of the most important is probably teaching them to be self feeders and self growers. It is understandable if a new believer needs someone to help and motivate them, and even feed them spiritually from the word, but there comes a time when they must learn to be responsible for their own growth and feeding themselves from the word of God, if they are going to prosper. Just like in the real world, one of the true signs of maturity is when a person doesn’t need anyone else to feed them or be responsible for the every need. So here are a few ideas that can help to get to this point of maturity and be a self feeder.
I. Be Attentive
One of the greatest spiritual deseases that plagues Christianity today would is spiritual blindness. The average Christian does not recognize where they are lacking or the weaknesses they have. There is also a great lack of biblical knowledge and the principles that would apply even if they recognized their error. So many people go through life either thinking they are fine, or knowing they have problems but not knowing what to do about it. So the first thing we have to do to be a self grower is be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His word. Pray and ask the Lord to show you things that you need to work on in your life and He will.
II. Be Intentional
One of the hardest things about spiritual growth is that it doesn’t happen by accident. Just as a muscle will not grow if you just sit on the couch, we will not grow spiritually if we don’t take specific steps to get there. Also one of the biggest hinderances with getting in shape is probably procrastination, we always have plans to start tomorrow. The same way with spiritual growth, it’s not going to happen unless we have a plan. To grow spiritually we must decide today to read our Bible, Pray and Practice what we learn in the Bible.
III. Be Determined
When it comes down to it, one of the biggest hinderances to spiritual growth would be quitting. Growth is hard, and takes time that some are not willing to spend, but unfortunately the key is just staying at it, and little by little you will begin to see the growth take place. In the moments when you are tired and discouraged, or you have failed again, you have to get back up and stay at it. Take baby steps and don’t put too many expectations on yourself and in no time you will be lightyears from where you were before. The best part of it all is that when you become a self feeder and mature Christian, you can then begin to help others in the same journey you have just been on, and we can truly see the Church have the impact on our world that it should be having.