Rejoicing When Growth Shows Up

Scripture Reading: Col. 2:1-5 

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,  

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ,  

in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.  

For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.  

Thoughts 

Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1 wasn’t vague or sentimental. He asked God to fill the Colossians with wisdom, strength, endurance, and maturity. Then in chapter 2, he describes how he struggles for them — laboring, teaching, warning, and contending so those very qualities would take root. And then comes the moment that fills him with joy: “I rejoice to see your good order and the firmness of your faith” (2:5).  The maturity he prayed for is now visible — and it makes him rejoice. 

It’s a similar joy you feel in disc golf when you help a newer player prepare for their first tournament: walking the course, teaching lines, talking disc choices, and encouraging them. You’ve prayed, invested, and watched growth. On tournament day, even if you’re not on their card, you witness them playing with maturity—calm, steady, making smart decisions, recovering after setbacks. They’re not perfect, but they’re ordered and firm. The joy rises—not from your play, but from seeing your work bear fruit. What you prayed for, you now see: hope and effort taking shape as visible growth. 

That’s Paul. 

And Scripture keeps calling us into that same posture of rejoicing: 

Paul’s joy in Colossians 2 fits right into this stream: 

Rejoicing is what happens when you recognize God’s hand at work — in you, in others, and even in the struggle.