Buried or Planted?

Spiritual Growth & Discipleship
Growth is something we all desire, but the process of growing is not always comfortable. We pray for God to mature us, strengthen our faith, deepen our relationship with Him, and lead us into His purpose. Yet, when the process requires surrender, patience, or change, we sometimes resist the very thing we have been praying for. The truth is, spiritual growth often requires us to make room for what God wants to do by surrendering what we have grown comfortable holding on to.
Just as a seed must enter the soil before it can produce fruit, there are seasons in our lives when God is working beneath the surface, preparing us for something greater than we can presently see. But here's the question: Are we willing to embrace the process?
Growth Begins With Surrender
Jesus gives us a powerful picture of spiritual transformation in John 12:24 (ESV) "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
A seed carries the potential for life, but that potential cannot be realized while it remains in someone's hand. It must be released. It must enter the ground. It must undergo a process of transformation. The same principle applies to our spiritual lives. We cannot experience the fullness of what God desires to produce in us while refusing to surrender the things that keep us from following Him.
Sometimes those things are obvious: sinful habits, unhealthy relationships, or destructive behaviors. Other times, they are more subtle: pride, fear, personal ambitions, our need for control, or simply our unwillingness to change. Jesus continues in John 12:25 by teaching that those who cling to their lives will ultimately lose them, while those who surrender their lives for His sake will find eternal life. We cannot produce new life while refusing to surrender the old. Making room for God's plan begins when we stop insisting on our own.
Growing Pains Often Feel Like Losing Control
One of the most difficult aspects of spiritual growth is accepting that surrender means relinquishing control. We naturally want to know what comes next. We want clear answers, predictable outcomes, and assurance that everything will unfold according to our expectations. But following Jesus requires faith, and faith often calls us to trust God beyond what we can see.
Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." This is the heart of Christian discipleship. Christianity is not simply adding Jesus to the life we already wanted. It is surrendering our lives to Jesus and receiving new life in Him. That means our priorities begin to change. Our desires are transformed. Our decisions become shaped by His Word rather than our personal preferences.
Colossians 3:1–3 reminds believers to set their minds on things above because their lives are now hidden with Christ in God. Spiritual maturity requires a new way of thinking. We begin asking different questions. Instead of asking, "God, will You bless what I want to do?" we begin asking, "Lord, what are You calling me to do?" Instead of demanding that God follow our plans, we learn to align ourselves with His. Sometimes the pain of growing is actually the discomfort of releasing control. And while surrender may feel like losing something, in Christ it becomes the pathway to receiving something far greater.
God Is Working Even When We Cannot See It
Have you ever planted a seed and returned the next morning expecting to see a fully grown plant? Of course not. We understand that growth takes time. Yet, spiritually, we sometimes expect immediate transformation. We pray, obey, and take steps of faith, but when we don't see instant results, we begin to question whether anything is happening.
Jesus addresses this in Mark 4:26–29, comparing the kingdom of God to a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. The farmer sleeps and rises, day after day, while the seed sprouts and grows. Interestingly, Jesus points out that the farmer does not fully understand how that growth occurs. The farmer has a responsibility to sow, but he is not the source of life within the seed. This reveals an important spiritual truth: We are responsible for our response to God, but we are not the source of spiritual life. God is!
There are seasons when the greatest work God is doing in us is not immediately visible to others. He may be developing patience where impatience once ruled. He may be cultivating humility where pride once dominated. He may be teaching us to trust Him in areas where we previously depended on ourselves. And while these changes may not produce immediate outward results, they are essential to our spiritual development. Philippians 1:6 assures us that the God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. What an encouragement!
God does not abandon the work He begins. The absence of visible progress does not necessarily mean the absence of spiritual growth. Sometimes the most important growth is happening beneath the surface.
Lasting Growth Comes Through Jesus, Not Our Own Striving
One of the greatest misunderstandings about spiritual growth is believing that transformation happens simply because we try harder. We make promises to ourselves. We establish new routines. We attempt to change our behavior through determination and willpower. While discipline and obedience have an important place in the Christian life, genuine spiritual transformation cannot be produced by human effort alone.
Jesus makes this unmistakably clear in John 15:5: "Apart from me you can do nothing." He is the source of our spiritual life. We are the branches, and He is the vine. A branch does not produce fruit by striving independently from the tree. It produces fruit because it remains connected to the source of life.
In the same way, our spiritual growth flows from our relationship with Jesus Christ. As we remain in Him, submit to His Word, and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, His life begins to transform ours. Second Corinthians 5:17 declares that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come. This is more than behavior modification. It is a new identity.
Romans 6:4 reminds us that through our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, we are called to walk in newness of life. God's desire is not simply to improve the old version of us. He calls us to live the new life we have received in Jesus. The goal of spiritual growth is not to become a better version of ourselves apart from God. It is to become increasingly like Christ.
Making Room for God's Plan
Every season of spiritual growth presents us with a choice. Will we resist the process because it feels uncomfortable, or will we trust the One who is producing the growth? Will we continue holding tightly to our own plans, or will we surrender to His? Will we judge our progress only by what we can see, or will we trust that God is working even beneath the surface? Ephesians 4:15 calls us to grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head of the Church.
Spiritual growth is not optional for those who desire to mature as disciples of Jesus. It is part of God's ongoing work in our lives. But growth requires room. Room for His Word to challenge our thinking. Room for His Spirit to confront our attitudes. Room for obedience when His instructions stretch our comfort. Room for patience when His timing differs from ours. And room for surrender when His plans lead us beyond what we originally imagined.
The growing pains we experience are not always signs that something is wrong. Sometimes they are evidence that something in us is changing. We must be careful not to confuse the discomfort of transformation with the absence of God's presence. What feels like the end of one season may be the beginning of the fruit God desires to produce in the next.
A Personal Challenge: What Needs to Change?
Take a moment to examine your life. Is there an attitude you have been unwilling to surrender? Is there a habit that continues to hinder your spiritual growth? Are you holding on to a personal plan that God has been asking you to release?
Perhaps you are in a season where nothing seems to be changing, and you are struggling to trust that God is working. Whatever your situation, remember that the same God who calls you to grow is the One who provides the life necessary for that growth. Your responsibility is to surrender, trust, and obey. His responsibility is to produce the life and fruit that only He can bring. Don't allow the discomfort of the process to convince you to abandon what God has begun. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. Keep growing.
Don't Resist the Growth
A seed does not remain a seed forever when it is planted in the right environment and life begins to emerge. Likewise, God never intended for us to remain spiritually stagnant. He calls us into a lifelong journey of becoming more like Jesus. That journey will include seasons of surrender, stretching, waiting, and transformation. But through it all, we can remain confident that God is faithful to complete the work He has begun.
The growing pains may be uncomfortable, but the fruit of a life surrendered to Jesus is worth the process. So don't simply ask God to change your circumstances. Ask Him to change you. And as He does, make room for His plan.