Are you growing in your Christian life?
When I disciple a new believer, I always emphasize four areas she needs to keep balanced in order to grow deeper in her relationship with the Lord:
- Time in God’s Word
- Time in prayer
- Fellowship with other believers
- Sharing the gospel with non-believers
The first two areas strengthen our vertical relationship with God, and the second two areas strengthen our horizontal relationships with others. All four areas are vital to spiritual growth. Are those four areas balanced in your life?
I have seen Christians start off strong but later begin to “plateau” and stop growing. So, what causes a believer who has been walking with the Lord for years to stop growing spiritually? What keeps someone from pressing on in his spiritual life and growing deeper with the Lord? Here are a few causes that I have seen personally:
- Imbalance in those four areas
- Unconfessed sin
- Settling for status quo
- Preferring comfort over character
- Pain, suffering, hardships, and disappointments that make us angry at God and question His love for us
- Distractions of the world that draw our love and commitment away from the Lord
I love what Paul says in Philippians 3:12:
“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”
Paul had a sense of dissatisfaction in his Christian walk – a healthy dissatisfaction. He knew he had not reached the finish line yet when he would finally be like Christ, and he refused to be satisfied until he got there. We would do well to follow Paul’s example. Never become satisfied with where you are spiritually but keep pressing on.
Are you settling for status quo in the Christian life? Or are you pressing on, longing to be more like Christ every day? If you’re not growing, what are the causes in your life?
