Our spiritual growth and development is one of the things that God expects from us His Children. Just like every natural parent in the flesh would desire that their lads grow up and become mature men and women, God who is our father also demands this from us. There are a couple of reasons why our spiritual development is paramount.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 1Peter 2:2”

Firstly, it takes being spiritual to assess all the things that God has made available to us in Christ Jesus. Apostle Paul in Acts 20:32 says “and now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his Grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified (KJV).God has blessed us so much in Christ Jesus, and these blessings are spiritually coded. Ephesians 1:3 says “blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (KJV). God is not just planning to bless us; he has blessed us already according to that scripture.One reason believers are not taking advantage of their blessings is simply because they are yet to spiritually decode them. No man can decipher the things of God, except by the spirit of God that is resident within the believer. Remember, God is a spirit and they that want to access all that He’s made available for them can only do that in spirit and truth.

Secondly, our spiritual development and depth always determines how far we will receive from God. There are heights and depths in God where only spiritual maturity can take us. Our inheritances in God are released as we attain spiritual development and maturity. Galatians 4:1 succinctly puts it this way. “Now I say, The Heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all” (KJV). Even though the heir owns everything, as long has he is a babe, nobody would handover anything to him. It is like giving your car keys to your 5year old son or daughter to drive. By doing that, you will simply get him or her killed. If our earthly fathers will not behave in such an irrational manner, how much more our heavenly father, who’s the creator of heaven and earth. He will not release some blessings to us (in his infinite mercy) until he sees that we are absolutely matured to handle them. This is why you should take your spiritual growth paramount in this year 2016.

So, how do you develop yourself spiritually? The answer is not far-fetched. All you need to achieve this is to place yourself on some spiritual diets. Remember, it takes healthy diets to develop and grow physically right?. The same principles also can be applied for spiritual growth and development. Spiritual diets are series of spiritual meals that will enhance your spiritual maturity. These meals are not sold in our daily conventional food markets and so, there is no need to stress yourself about that. They are simply coded on the pages of scriptures. Let me take the next few paragraphs to talk about them.

The word of God: God’s word is our spiritual meal as believers. The work and all the operations of God Almighty are simply coded in his word. God’s word has creative capacity and ability. Genesis 1:3 established the creative ability of God’s word. “And God said, let there be light, and there was light”. There is nothing as potent as the word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Jesus Himself recognizes the importance of feeding on the word of God when he replied the devil in the wilderness. He said “for it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4 (KJV). That portion simply tells us that, physical bread cannot aid a man’s spiritual development, the word of God alone can. In 2016, make the word of God your companion, and watch yourself change levels afterwards as it builds you up on every side (Acts 20:32)

Meditation: To enjoy a rapid spiritual development, you must develop a meditative lifestyle. Meditation simply means thinking deeply on the word of God that you have read or heard. It also means allowing the word of God take roots downward in you through your thought process. When your mind is notfilled with the word of God, the devil is smart; he will fill it with all manners of jargons. This is the singular reason you must constantly be word-filled. Do not give the devil any chance to occupy your mind with devilish thoughts. Also, apart from the fact that a meditative lifestyle can fast track our spiritual development, Good success and prosperity are also part of the end products of meditation. Remember Joshua 1:8 says “this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shall make thy way prosperous, and then thou shall have good success” (KJV). You see that, a meditative life brings about success and prosperity. Psalm 1:1-3 also corroborates this fact that has been stated above.

Finally, have a consistent and workable quiet time alongside a healthy church life. God is willing and ready to tell you how the year 2016 will look like for you and some other deep and secret things about Himself and his plans for your life, but how are you going to know all these things if you don’t have a specific time you have dedicated to Him? Deuteronomy 29:29 says “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (KJV). God is more than willing to share secrets with his children who seek him. Quiet time is that special time you dedicate to God, out of the 24hours schedule you have daily to be alone with Him. It is called quiet time because it is a time devoid of noises and some other distractions. It must be you alone with God and enjoying some nice conversation. Related to quiet time is a healthy and consistent church life.

One of the places God has ordained spiritual maturity and development of his children is in the church. The reason for this is because God has set ministry gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) that will equip the believer to attaining maturity in the church (Ephesians 4:11-13). Therefore, you cannot afford to joke with your church life in this New Year. Make conscious efforts to program church activities and programs into your schedule. Remember, God warned us in Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake the assembling of ourselves as the manner of some is. Make conscious effort to make walking with the Lord a must for you in this New Year and you will witness your life taking new heights. I believe that you have been blessed with this short charge, do have a prosperous 2016 and thank you for reading.

God bless you.