Daily EncouragementSample

“He does not know how” - that is to say, growth is beyond human comprehension. It is true of grain, and it is true of the babe in the womb; it is true of all spiritual growth in the kingdom of God. Of course, biologists now know more about growth than they once did, but the element of mystery remains: “As you do not know . . . how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things” (Ecc. 11:5). Growth is the work of God: “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:7). It is largely a steady and quiet work. “A gourd may grow in a night,” says J. O. Fraser, “but not an oak.” “I know of no growths that are noisy,” says Joseph Parker. “The great oak makes no noise as it strengthens itself with the growing years.” Here is encouragement to trust God’s work of grace in others and in ourselves. “Do not press too hardly for evidence of growth in your children,” writes Richard Glover. “Confine your care to the seed you sow, and, calm and hopeful, leave the rest to God. Be not too anxious about the work of grace in your own soul.”