Do you ever feel like some people are in a different spiritual category than you? As you witness their spiritual health and spiritual growth, you become mesmerized when you look at them and defeated when you look at yourself. It is easy to think that someone has something different from you, but God doesn’t place people at discipleship disadvantages.
While there may be some additional things you want in your spiritual life, I believe that you have absolutely everything you need to start growing. If God is for you, what could stand against you (Rom. 8:31)? God wants you to grow even more than you want to grow, and he will not withhold anything necessary from you to be successful.
The Physical Grind
When I first joined a gym, I noticed the vast array of individuals present. Some participants were infrequent attendees who did minimal strenuous activity. Other members were consistent in their attendance and ever-increasing in their displays of strength. While some merely wanted to coordinate intentional movement, others wanted to achieve drastic improvement. As I noticed these fitness fanatics, someone would often remark incorrectly regarding the impressive quality of their muscles.
“Look how many muscles that guy has!”
In reality, God gives every person approximately 650 muscles. No one person has more muscles than another.
Some people do more with the muscles they have been given.
The state of a person’s physical condition is dependent upon how diligent an individual applies effort. Muscles are given by God, and then they are strengthened by you. If you are a child of God, every necessary spiritual muscle is at your disposal. The question is – will you engage in spiritual training and work those muscles out?
The Spiritual Grind
Stop looking at spiritually mature people and assuming they have something you don’t. Each of us have the same amount of spiritual muscular potential, but we each work them out at different rates and different frequencies.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
2 Peter 1:3
You don’t lack anything to follow Jesus! You don’t lack anything to grow spiritually!
The reason many of us never grow stronger in our faith is because we are expecting God to do the part of the work He has equipped us to do.
We each have the same amount of potential. We each have the same Scriptures. We each are filled with the same Spirit.
We all have the same amount of spiritual muscles; some of us are just working them out more than the rest.
If you feel discouraged by where you are, get over it, and get to work.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.