Based on our human mindset, we want to make ourselves as comfortable as possible. We want our lives in order, our house in order, our finances in order, exemplary children, a good job, and a happy marriage. Of course, God wants this for us too, but sometimes we encounter storms from time to time—that’s just life in a broken world.
It’s not God who sends these storms our way, but God can use them to shape, mold, and help us grow, and it can be a platform for God’s power and glory to be manifested.
Growing hurts!
Just as we can feel growing pains in our bodies, growing in our faith can also be painful.
Growing isn’t glamorous; it happens in your secret closet, behind the scenes when no one is watching. Growing means we must learn to die to ourselves. It tests you, it tests your patience, and it even tests your faith and trust in God. It cultivates endurance, character, and hope in us.
Growing can feel incredibly lonely, and you can face unspeakable challenges.
But all these things aren’t there to destroy you; God can use them to make you stronger, to teach you to trust Him completely, and it will cost you something: your comfort, your patterns, or even people or relationships.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” - James 1:2-4
James 1:2-4 teaches us this: sometimes you have to go through a process to become mature enough to ultimately bear the calling God has for you. “Let perseverance FINISH its work.” Growing is a process! But unfortunately, it won’t be painless.
The good news is this: the pain can have a purpose. God is preparing you for what is to come, and sometimes He lets what has become comfortable collapse so that what has eternal value remains.
Are you willing to sometimes endure the discomfort for destiny? Because one thing is certain: you can’t have both; you can’t grow and stay comfortable at the same time.
I want to encourage you! 
When things seem tough, don’t give up.
When things seem confusing, don’t retreat.
When it feels like God is stretching you, trust that He is shaping you too.
Growing might hurt now, but one day you’ll look back and realize that the season of growing was preparation for the new season in which you can walk.
