Too often we find ourselves getting older without growing up, adulting without maturing. Most pride themselves in getting older but that doesn’t mean we’re actually getting wiser! Yet, the abundance of heaven is readily available to those who walk maturely in the Lord. His exceedingly, abundantly is waiting for us. Therefore, the disconnect here isn’t a matter of age, it’s a matter of acceptance.
That being said, I’d like you to take you on a journey today as to what it looks like to STOP ADULTING and instead, start maturing in the Lord. Would you like to join me?!
Note: this is NOT for the faint of heart. I’d like to propose, it’s rather convicting. But remember, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is a good thing because it means he’s speaking to your heart and he’s drawing you into new levels of revelation. I pray you have ears to hear!
On that note, what does it mean to “mature in the Lord?”
And WHAT IF that answer would actually give you the liberty to #stopadulting and ultimately allow you to find true freedom in God?!
I don’t know about you but I am soooo in.
So join me… and let’s stop adulting and start maturing in the Lord.
What does it mean to be mature?
By definition, “mature” means: fully developed; full-grown. Synonyms are adult, grown-up, of age.
Thank you Webster but we are going to need more than that! Can I get an “amen?!” How many of you know waaaaaaaaaaay too many adults who are not mature? Grown ups who don’t act well, grown up?! Heck, how many of us are that? Adults without maturity? Of age without wisdom? Bah!!
Too often we turn to the things of this world to create definition. And please hear me, I love the things. I love Webster’s dictionary, Google, and polls on Instagram, but as believers, our definition comes from one place and that is the word of God. And we must not mistake the tools for being our source. God is our source, dictionaries are tools. God is our source, google is a tool. There is a big difference.
So let’s go to the Word of God to determine what maturity really means because it is VERY clear on what it means to walk in maturity and we’re going to dive in Romans 8 to gain clarity.
It says, “The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit” Romans 8:14 TPT.
This is point number one!
You know you’re mature in the Lord when:
You are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.
Some of us need to admit that we are very impulsive. We react when someone cuts us off in traffic. We respond when someone says something that we’re not expecting. We don’t show up great when things go outside of our agenda and plan. That would be called impulsive. Yeah, the Bible is suggesting is that when we are mature, and the Lord, our impulses are built in the Holy Spirit. Why? Because he lives in us. That means, we don’t need to respond to everything that is going on around us because we are so connected to the one that lives in us. Now I am not suggesting that we are going to do this 10 for 10, but it does set a new standard. And it does cause us to relinquish our excuses and reasons for why we respond the way that we do. Most of us blame it on somebody else, we blame it on pain, and we blame it on circumstances. All of those things impact us, there is no way around it, but it does not give us the reason to respond impulsively. In fact, this truth in scripture tells us that we do have another option and for those who really are mature in the Lord, it is to respond in alignment with the Holy Spirit.
How you respond matters.
How you respond, determines your level of maturity.
It’s time to get to work!
Scripture then goes on to say, “and you did not receive the spirit of religious duty, leading you back into the fear of never being good enough.” Romans 8:15
You know you’re mature in the Lord when:
You stop going back to the lie!
Team, we have to stop going back to the lie. We know that God is a god of truth, which means the enemy is an enemy of lies. He is always in opposition to what God is. That means, if God has a very specific destiny for each one of our lives, for YOUR life, the enemy has a very specific lie that he uses to distract us from that destiny. Step one is identifying what that lie is, step two is no longer going back to it. Whether you find yourself having believed things like you are not good enough, or you will never have enough, or you are not worthy, or you are not important, these are all lies and the conscious or even subconscious tendencies to go back to them, showcase a lack of maturity in the Lord.
Hear me, those lies have been circulating in your head for so long that I know firsthand how real they can feel. But just because they feel real, don’t make them real. And as you begin to walk maturely in the Lord, you begin to see lies as lies.
Scripture goes onto say, “But you have received the spirit of full acceptance, and folding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him, in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God‘s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “ you are God’s beloved child!” Romans 8:15-16
It is time for you to realize that you are not how you behave. God has spoken his identity over you and you need to ensure that your behavior is in alignment with the identity He has given you not the other way around. Far too many people allow their behavior to shape their identity. This is why we behave in angry ways and then we see ourselves as angry people. We avoid and then we see ourselves as avoiders. That is not true and it is backwards from scripture. You are who he says you are.
What you believe matters.
Being lead by the Spirit’s truth matters.
What you believe determines your maturity in the Lord.
It’s time to get to work.
Then, when we are walking in this level of maturity, we begin to experience the abundance of heaven. It is for real, and I would also like to suggest that God will not give you his abundance if it will break you. He wants to give you his abundance because of who he is. And it is when our heart posture is aligned with his, that we can actually receive what he has been wanting to give us all along.
Scripture says, “And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are errors of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has.” Romans 8:17
THIS IS GOLD. Pure gold. I will say it again, his abundance is awaiting you. It is for the mature. And as you can see, maturity, has nothing to do with who you are, but who he is, and your sincere acceptance of that! All he wants is you to accept his truth! All he wants from you is an aligned heart. And the moment that heart is aligned, you begin to see that you qualify to share all his treasures and you inherit all that he is and all that he has. This is the essence of abundance! And it is awaiting those mature in the Lord!!
This passage closes with one more point. And I giggle in the placement of this verse because it is after the promise. Those immature will not get it, those mature in the Lord will totally understand it.
“We will experience being co-glorified with him, provided that we accept his suffering as our own.” Romans 8:17
You know you’re mature in the Lord when:
You accept the good and the hard, as unto the Lord!
Anyone can trust in the Lord when it is easy! Anyone can have faith when the plan is all mapped out. Anyone can except the good things. What do you do when it’s hard? What do you do when it’s not easy? Are you still worshiping or are you worrying? This is not something to condemn us, it is an invitation into a different way. The maturity of the Lord tells us that we are people who desire to not only enjoy glory jointly, but are accepting the fact that we also suffer jointly. What that means is that he is with us in the good and he’s with us in the hard. The mature recognize that this isn’t actually about the good or the hard, it is about the fact that he is with us. The mature and the Lord realize that this isn’t about circumstances, it is about God‘s presence. It isn’t about what we want, when we want it. It is about who God is and what he’s doing.
It’s time to walk in our full inheritance.
It’s time to revive the abundance of heaven.
And the way that we do that is we STOP ADULTING and we GROW UP IN THE LORD.
It’s the best thing you could ever do!
#stopadulting #growupintheLord #livefree #54daychallenge #dreambold #dreamchurchonline #dreamtogether
