This morning I was walking out my back door thru my garden and I noticed a particular stalk of bamboo in the patch around the door. The facet that my garden hose is hooked to pulls across it knocking it down. When the hose isn’t my bulldog puppy loves to chew it down to the ground. It is only one stalk of hundred but it seems to get picked on. The thing that struck me was that it always puts out a new shoot and grows about a foot or two in a few days before it happens again, I think my dog must be part Chinese she loves bamboo shoots. I thought you know people are like that bamboo plant they are trying to grow in Christ but they keep getting knocked down or chewed up by something or somebody. People don’t always spring back. Bamboo has no choice but to grow that’s what Daddy made it to do and He did a good job. He made us to grow too. To grow in Him and through Him into the fullness of  a standard that can only be measured in Christ. Jesus is our benchmark. A high standard but we were designed to meet it. But we can’t meet it on our own. Daddy placed His own Spirit in us to super fuel us into supernatural growth. He wants us to grow and enjoy the fullness of Christ life. He empowers us and enables us. The challenge is we have a say so in it. Our willingness to grow or quit  is our decision. Most folks quit or stop in their growth because they see the knock downs as their inability or God’s unwillingness for them to succeed. What we need to see is that life has its garden hoses that we get in the way of . And life has it’s thoughtless bulldogs that are just doing their thing and we are in the way. But we were made to grow . There is supernatural power with our willingness that will cause us to grow. Unlike plants rooted in the earth we can move. Sometimes we need to learn and get out of the way of things that want to stop our growth. We need to get away from some folks or places that set us up to get knocked down. More importantly we need to be willing to keep on growing. The only thing that can truly stop you is you. The enemy o f your life knows that. He uses the weapon of hopelessness and discouragement to influence you to quit. He has no power over your growth . He only has influence on your decision. If he can get you to a place where you decide to give up then you have defeated yourself.  He secret is not to look at your abilities. Focus on His supernatural strength. I like to confess this” The Lord ( Yahweh) is the strength of my life whom will I fear. The Lord is my light and my salvation of whom shall I be afraid, It helps me focus and it releases my faith. You know what you say or don’t say releases or keeps the power of God from being activated in your life. That shoot of bamboo spoke to me. Daddy in creation spoke to me today and said don’t give up. The tougher it gets the tougher he is in you. His grace which as I understand is His divine empowerment to do what I can’t do is enough to put me over. Be willing and obedient and you will eat the good Daddy has for you.