Do you remember when you were a child how excited you would get when you discovered that you grew another fraction of an inch? It seems like children can never get tall enough, but eventually they reach their maximum height and they plateau … until they start shrinking.

In the spiritual world, I get the feeling that many are afraid to keep growing. They are comfortable with the level they are at and they prefer to stay there. However, nothing encourages me more than someone who has walked with God for a lot of years and is still learning and growing in his or her relationship with the Lord.

It is important to know what you believe, but you must also be willing to concede that you might be wrong in certain areas. When pride begins to well up in your heart as you defend your views, that is a good indication that you are not where you need to be with the Lord. Being “right” in your beliefs is not as important as being right with God.

Proverbs repeatedly states that God hates pride, but I expect that He hates spiritual pride most of all. Jesus taught with authority but He must have figured out how to be confident without being proud. This is something that we must learn as well.

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to evaluate yourself in the light of God’s Word. How much have you grown this past year? What areas do you still need to grow in? Seek Him, ask Him to show you those areas, and then move forward in faith that He who began a good work in you will complete it. Don’t stop growing.