If you’re frustrated with your spiritual growth, STOP TRYING SO HARD!
Many Christians chasing spiritual maturity hit a wall because they push too hard in one (or both) of these ways:
CHASING TOO MUCH
Treating your spiritual growth like a checklist of activities, expecting results from relentless doing.
THINKING TOO MUCH
Overanalyzing your progress, doubting if you’re truly growing in Christ.
The result? Exhaustion and discouragement. Eventually, you feel like the gap between where you are and where you should be is too big to close. And then you stop trying altogether.
Now, don’t get me wrong—spiritual maturity takes effort. There are moments when we need discipline, commitment, and decisive action. But sustained, self-driven striving will burn you out.
TWO BIG CAUTIONS
1. Spiritual maturity is NOT a formula. You cannot reduce it to a flurry of activity.
2. There’s no “one-step” shortcut to deep faith. True growth comes from our surrender and full commitment to all of God’s Word—not just the parts that feel “easy.”
At the core of spiritual maturity is a deepening relationship with Jesus. Not a system. Not a program. Not trying hard. JUST HIM.
MY WAKE-UP CALL
Early in my faith journey, I thought I could speed-run spiritual growth. I was a corporate CEO at the time, so I made a detailed, ambitious plan to fast-track my maturity.
Reality hit fast and I quickly realized that my plan was crazy. My initial enthusiasm turned into disappointment…which led to inaction…which spiraled into frustration and, ultimately, abandonment of the plan. And then I went back to TRYING HARD.
Why start if you can’t finish, right?
But then I came across a simple but profound truth: Jesus himself didn’t strive and try hard—he withdrew.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35
Jesus wasn’t running around, checking boxes on a spiritual to-do list. He was spending time with the Father. That’s where his strength came from. And that’s where ours should come from, too.
TRYING EASY
Yes, we’re called to “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12). But that doesn’t mean working harder in our own strength.
God never asked us to manufacture spiritual growth—he asks us to surrender and allow him to do the work in us.
That’s why I ask God daily:
• To remind me that knowing him must be my first priority.
• To free me from striving and self-reliance.
• To teach me that spiritual intimacy is built through obedient surrender, not anxious effort.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you trying hard to grow spiritually? If so, consider jumping off the striving bus and start seeking.
But this time, try easy.
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12
