Category Archives: Spiritual Disciplines & Growth

God’s Word says to “train yourself to be godly” (1 Tim. 4:7). It’s the same word used for exercising to become physically fit. 2 Timothy 2:3-6 refers to soldiers who undergo vigorous discipline so they’re fit to win the battle, athletes who train to win a prize, and farmers who endure hardship for a crop. The end result of such discipline makes it worth it for them. Do we find spiritual disciplines’ purpose worthwhile?

Before answering that question, we should first have answers to these:

• What are Spiritual Disciplines?
• What are Examples of the Spiritual Disciplines?

Identifying a Spiritual Discipline’s Purpose That Truly Motivates

To consistently engage in that which could cause us some inconvenience or discomfort, we need a pretty good reason to do so. We humans don’t like to give up our personal agendas and interests for something we don’t perceive as worth the time and effort. For example, to consistently and persistently spend time in the Word and prayer, we need motivation beyond reasoning that it’s something Christians do. It needs to go beyond what a pastor or Bible teacher instructs us to do. Guilt and coercion may work for a while but usually don’t keep us going.

The Apostle Paul identified a spiritual disciplines purpose that truly motivated him. He said, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ …” (Phil. 3:8-11).

Is your heart’s desire to more fully know and love our Lord? If so, the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” should make you want to engage in spiritual disciplines, even when it involves sacrifice. The more intimately acquainted you become with Him, the more spiritual disciplines purpose will seem worthwhile.

For more, check out the Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool which will help you further reflect on motivation for engaging in spiritual disciplines.

God wants us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). We never will arrive at fully knowing that grace for He keeps giving us more and more grace (Jn. 1:16; James 4:6). Nor will we ever stop growing in our knowledge of our Lord for the “Son is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). Our finite minds can’t fully comprehend an infinite God. If we could, He would cease to be God for He would be no greater than us. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). Yet, some Christians seem to be stunted in their spiritual growth.

What Might Be Stunting Spiritual Growth

The following list, which is not exhaustive, gives some possible reasons we fail to press on. This post cannot examine each of these reasons so click on the article(s) for help with it.

boredom

• Bored? – Cure for Boredom in the Christian Life
• Need to Change Your Thinking about the Christian Life?

busyness

• Effects of Busyness on the Life of the Church
• Ideas for Getting Busy People to Engage in True Fellowship
• Bible Verses Guiding the Use of Our Time

circumstances of life

• Praising God, Even on a Bad Day
• Let’s Rise Above
• In the Midst of Crisis, Rise Above
• Strength & Courage Needed?
• Possible Joy
• God, Greater Than All That Pertains to You

comparisons

• Caught Up in the Comparison Game?
• Significance Because of God’s Grace

compartmentalizing

• Caught Up in the Mundane Things of Life?

conflict with others

• To Rise Above Conflict, Rely on God’s Grace
• To Rise Above Conflict, Remember Who’s the Real Enemy
• To Rise Above Conflict, Follow God’s Word
• Perspective and Power to Rise Above Conflict

discontentment

• We Need More?
• Discontent or Discouraged in Serving?

faulty beliefs

• Our Beliefs About the Bible Have Implications
• What We Really Believe Matters

fears

• Replace Fear with Confidence
• God’s Presence: The Defense Against Hindrances
• Secure in the Lord Because of Who He Is

hurts/suffering

• But It Hurts!
• Help for When We Hurt
• Jesus’ Example in Suffering

impatience

• Wait for the Lord

insecurities

• Secure in the Lord Because of Who He Is
• Secure in the Lord Because of How God Relates

lack diligence

• Diligence Matters

legalistic, performance-based approach

• Christian Life: Law vs. Grace
• Performance-based Versus Grace-Based

lost first love

• Christian Life: Destination vs. Journey
• Christian Life: Drudgery vs Joy

misaligned priorities

• Keeping the Right Priorities Takes Perspective
• Keeping the Right Priorities Takes Divine Power

sin, bad habits, unhealthy attitudes

• Effects of Sin on Experiencing the Presence of God
• Stuck but want to Change?

spiritual warfare

• Biblical Principles for Spiritual Battles
• Too Hard to Make It Through Life Without Peace – Part 5 (Spiritual Battles)

stuck in a rut

• Not Visionary Because We’re Stuck
• Stuck in Perpetual Motion?

unrealistic expectations

• Peace Comes Through Realistic Expectations

God Has Provided What We Need to Grow

No matter what the reason may be, the one thing that applies to all is that our God is greater than all that pertains to you. It’s going to take more than good intentions and self-effort to grow spiritually. We need reliance on our Great God who has provided a variety of means to help us grow. Get to Him better in the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool.

God uses what has been termed “spiritual disciplines” to foster growth. Just as we engage in physical activities to strengthen our muscles, boost our energy level, and improve our overall health, so engaging in certain spiritual activities can do the same for our walk with God. The Getting Spiritually Fit: Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines Discipleship Tool primarily looks at five key activities that will help you become more spiritually fit.

It will, however, take more than routine discipline. Our attitudes, motives, and perspective in it make a big difference. The Sowing Good into Our Lives Discipleship Acrostics looks at traits that need to be sown into our hearts as we engage in various spiritual activities. A walk with God that stems from the heart tends to keep growing.

God wants us to get to know Him … not just cognitively but relationally. It’s why He sent Jesus (Jn. 14:6-11; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Jn. 5:20). While we will never fully know God, because He’s God, we can learn more about Him. The more we get to know Him, the more we’ll come to love the Lord with all of who we are (Matt. 22:37-38) and trust Him with all of our heart (Prov. 3:5-6).

6 Ways We Can Learn About God

God uses a variety of means to help us know Him better.

1. God’s Word

The Bible is the ultimate and primary source for understanding God and His ways. All else we do to learn about Him should be filtered through His Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Ps. 19:7-11). God’s Word leads to faith and spiritual growth as it is studied and applied to life (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 5:12-6:1).

2. Life Circumstances

God uses our circumstances to teach us as we have opportunity to see His Word at work; God fulfilling the promises in it and leading us to righteousness and conformity to His Son through both the good and bad of life (Deut. 4:35; Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 1:3-5; Heb. 12:3-11; James 1:2-4).

3. Nature

God’s wonders in nature teach us about the glory of God, leaving us without excuse for not believing in and honoring God as the One of whom there is no greater (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:18-21).

4. Music

Music, usually viewed as a vehicle of praise, is also a way to instruct and build each other up in the Lord (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

5. One Another

God uses relationships with other believers to teach us about Himself and equip us as we exercise our spiritual gifts in serving one another (Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:2). This can happen face-to-face, through the printed page, the Internet, or even through fun and games together.

6. Spiritual Disciplines

Just as engaging in physical activities strengthens our muscles, so purposefully and intentionally engaging in spiritual activities can do the same for our spiritual muscles (1 Tim. 4:7). The stronger we become in Him, the greater our understanding of who He is grows. Check out this helpful resource: Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool

Perhaps you know Christians, maybe even yourself, who don’t seem to be growing in their walk with the Lord. Sadly, some don’t even seem to want to grow. They lack motivation so they rarely read the Bible, pray, engage with fellow believers, etc. Yet, God’s Word encourages us to grow.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Pet. 3:18)

Though none of us will ever arrive at full spiritual maturity in this life and we will err along the way, we should at least “want to” grow. Read Philippians 3:10-14 for the Apostle Paul’s example where he says “I want to know Christ. … Not that I have already obtained all this, … but I press on … I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on …”

Questions to Ask of Ourselves and Others Lacking Motivation to Grow

1) Do we/they truly know the Lord?

We shouldn’t assume everyone who attends our church or Sunday School class is a true believer. It’s possible to talk the talk and appear to walk the walk but not have a personal relationship with the Lord. If not a true believer, then the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell within to provide the motivation and power to live the Christian life.

2) Do we/they have an adequate understanding of God’s grace?

There’s a reason 2 Peter 3:18, quoted above, says to grow in both knowledge and grace. — “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12)

Don’t expect that simply knowing what to do will motivate us enough to do it, or that knowing about God will motivate us to want to know Him better. Grace is God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves. If we don’t have a good sense of how much we need God at the root of all we do, guiding and empowering us, we’ll undoubtedly lack motivation to press on in our walk. Sensing the difficulty of striving to consistently live righteously both on the inside and outwardly, will tend to make us grow weary and give up.

What Are We Doing as a Church to Help People Want to Grow?

God designed the Body of Christ in such a way that we have a part in one another’s growth. — Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:15-16)

We’re to spur one another on and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord (Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Thess. 5:11). We dispense God’s grace, a vital component to growth, as we serve one another (1 Pet. 4:10). When we get real with one another about where we are spiritually, we can pray for and with one another in such a way that it has a healing effect (James 5:16).

While structuring programs to accomplish some of this can be helpful, we must keep the focus on people over programs. Both large and small group gatherings can be useful but it may also take one-on-one interaction in non-formal settings. Are we willing to invest into people’s lives in such a way that it affects their motivation to know the Lord?

For Help: Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool