"Lord Help Me! I Want to Grow."

1.       When a pathway is walked on repeatedly, the ground responds by getting hard. Eventually, everything stops growing, and your heart turns into wayside soil. This is often how our hearts respond when we have been misused, mistreated, or abused, but we don’t want to stay there. Think of an area in your life where you’ve become wayside soil. What has led to the hardening of your heart? How can you start to work the soil of your heart to allow growth to begin?

2.       We can't reach our full potential when we don’t allow ourselves to develop deeper roots in our faith. In fact, we will often resort back to what we knew to do before we met Jesus. After the people of Israel were freed from captivity, they wanted to return to being enslaved whenever times got hard. Many of us respond similarly to difficult situations, but instead of literal enslavement, it might be substances, anger, or some other unhealthy coping mechanism. What has God delivered you from, but residual effects remain?

 

3.       As our society grows more advanced, it increases in complexity, and the number of things striving for the soil that is our mind and our attention has grown exponentially. Sometimes it’s good, but not necessarily God’s best for us. Regardless, it is our responsibility to remain focused on what God has for us and not the cares of the world. What has been drawing your attention away from God lately? How can you grow in your ability to shift your attention back to God’s will for you?