Sometimes spiritual growth can feel like two steps forward and three steps back. Sometimes we can feel that we’re not growing at all. Spiritual growth doesn’t come easily; that’s why Paul encourages us not to give up. When we look in the mirror each day we can’t see much change, but when we look at photos from when we were younger, we can see how we’ve grown and matured. And it’s the same for our spiritual lives. Day by day we can’t see our progress, but when we look back we can see how far we’ve come. The Bible says: ‘And we all…are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV). But transformation and growth aren’t always easy. So when we get discouraged, we need to be reminding ourselves that we’re on a spiritual journey, we’re making progress even when we can’t see it, and that the devil will always look for ways to remind us how far we still have to go. But we shouldn’t listen to the devil. Jesus said, ‘he is a liar and the father of lies’ (John 8:44 NIV). If we get discouraged and give up, Satan wins. The Bible says we need to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). And that means we need to learn to not live by our emotions alone, but dig down inside to where God’s Spirit lives. We don’t need to rely on feelings, we need to rely on God’s truth. So when we feel like giving up, that we’re not getting anywhere and that we’re not good enough, we need to take those thoughts captive, remember God’s truth and carry on our journey of spiritual growth.

What Now?

Go through an old photo album and see how much you’ve changed and grown. Then think about how much you’ve grown spiritually.