Are You Moving Forward In Your Life? Part Two

In part one I discussed moving forward in one’s emotional maturity. This article will encompass spiritual growth. Although the two are related, each area requires individual focus. The average Christian does not have a plan for spiritual growth. Sure, we read the Bible, pray, and attend worship services, but how many Christians can identify specific areas where growth has taken place? It is something that must be given pro-active attention; it doesn’t just hsppen.

The Bible makes it very clear that spiritual development requires action on our part. Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so easily, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  The “weights” can include all sorts of issues that hold back Christian maturity. 1 Timothy 4: 7 says to “ train yourself for godliness,” and 1 Timothy 4:12-15 tells us to “be an example in speech, conduct, faith, love, and purity…practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that your progress may be evident to all.”

However, there are “roadblocks” to spiritual growth, due to unresolved hurts and past experiences. They can be any kind of adversity. Author and pastor, Peter Scazzero, lists things like a job loss, a cancer diagnosis, a disillusioning church experience, or a shattered dream.  He refers to these things as “walls” that cause us to “question ourselves, God, the church. We discover for the first time that our faith does not seem to ‘work.’”and “without  an understanding of the Wall in the journey, however, countless sincere followers of Christ stagnate there and no longer move forward with God’s purpose for their lives. Some of us hide behind our faith to flee the pain of our lives rather than trust God to transform us through it”(emphasis mine).*

Success at developing God’s potential for our lives comes as a result of allowing him to fix what has been broken and to make changes in our lives that he knows need to be made.

The big question is, are we as Christians, allowing ourselves to stagnate in our spiritual walk?  Are we staying on a “spiritual plateau?” Have we gotten over or through the walls in our lives? One’s spiritual journey has no end in this earthly life, but we need to continue to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit, and with a definite and specific plan of action. As Philippians 3:13-14 state, we must “strain forward to what lies ahead. Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” So, what is the prize? “Blessed is the one who remains steadfast under trial, for when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him”(James 1:12).

What are some specific ways that we, as Christians, can move forward in our spiritual walk to be an example to others? What are some specific areas that you would like to see more spiritual growth in your own personal life, and what plan can you come up, along with the power of the Holy Spirit, to make it happen?

*Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spiritually, Thomas Nelson, 2006, pg. 120-122