Spring up and grow!

November 2, 2006

By Doug Graham

I love spring because I love to see things grow. When we moved into our new home the yard was pure dirt. With our North Dakota winds, every time our garage door went up the dirt in the yard ended up in the garage. I swept it out. But that was only a temporary solution. By the next day dirt was all over the garage floor again.

The only permanent solution to this problem was to transform our dirt yard into a grassy spread. In other words, to solve the dirt problem, something needed to start growing.

The same principle holds true in life. Which of your problems seem to possess immortality? Which habits keep hanging on and never seem to drop away? Maybe those things are still in your life because all you’re doing about them is “sweeping them away.” What really needs to happen is for something to “grow” in the yard of your life.

But nurturing growth requires commitment. It only took 5 minutes to sweep out the garage, and I didn’t even break a sweat. But to transform my yard from dirt into green grass took several weeks and a lot of sweat.

The moment we quit growing spiritually, we begin to collect “dirt.” Stagnant believers are very easy to spot. They are more negative than positive. They are more self-centered than others-centered. They are more problem-focused than solution-focused.

If you want to be on the solution side of life’s problems, get on the growing side of life. Listen to the strong words of the apostle Paul:

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6, NIV).

When you see signs of spring all around, take advantage of the season — and learn the spiritual lesson nature gives us. Let the beauty of God’s creation inspire you to take steps to “come alive” spiritually. Let the dead branches of doubt drop. Let the dry leaves of negativity fall. Turn on the spigot of God’s Word and grow.

Doug Graham is senior pastor of Evangel Assembly of God in Bismarck, N.D.