Not everyone will be at a place where they are ready to receive this truth, but for those who may be confused by the painful things God has asked of you, this Biblical wisdom can bring a special grace to bear your burdens.

When you reach the level of spiritual maturity where God is not just a friend to you, but you are a friend to him (you are obedient to his Word), he may ask you to do painful things that don’t seem to actually be working together for your good.

God always works for ‘the good’ for all those who love him and our called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). This can sometimes mean God leads us in a way that causes us to suffer, and that our suffering is not in vain, as God in his sovereignty helps other people, not in spite of, but because of, what we are suffering (and how we are handling that suffering).

The key point being, God will allow us to suffer at times, knowing that our pain will benefit those we are called to serve.

We need to read and meditate on the scriptures about sharing in Christ’s sufferings, and understand that to be like Christ, we have to be willing to do hard things that don’t directly benefit us, for the benefit of others.

God wants our complete devotion.

If you are serious about moving into next level maturity, glory, and authority in 2025, time spent in meditation of the more difficult passages in the Bible is mandatory.

No one grows to full maturity in Christ on a constant diet of the ‘desert’ of the Word. Only those that have a revelation of God’s love for them will be able to accept with joy his expectations of full surrender to that love.

Difficult or extraordinary obedience doesn’t always benefit us in our natural life. Being broken bread and poured out wine in the lives of others so that a revelation of God’s goodness and tender mercies can be represented in the flesh to someone far from God will costs us something.

This is where many turn back saying ‘it’s too hard.’ Or, ‘God is not dealing justly with me. I won’t serve a unjust God.’

God is always just.

He has purchased us with the precious blood of Jesus. He redeemed us from the curse. He gave us eternal life. We are not our own. Sugar coating the cost of true discipleship cripples. Biblical expectation based on hopes placed in anything but the all sufficiency of Christ, will be dashed.

2025 is the year of NEXT LEVEL MATURITY, and with it, Next Level fruitfulness.

‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.’ -John 12:24