An NFL rookie joined our Friday morning team Bible study. 

After a few weeks, he became a bit discouraged. The other men in the study not only knew the Bible better, Jesus was more personal to them. They talked about discoveries and conviction. 

He confided in another believer that he was not growing like his teammates. He wanted to know what he was missing. 

I think we all go through periods in the Christian life when we feel like our growth has been stagnant. We should want our faith to grow, our relationship with Jesus to deepen and our grasp of the Bible to broaden. 

The desire to grow spiritually is healthy and normal, just like other areas of our lives. Coaches plan all off-season on how to push your game to the next level. Every athlete works to be stronger, faster, smarter year after year. Your parents dropped new and bigger responsibilities in your lap to prepare you for adulthood. 

God is the One who causes growth in our spiritual lives, in our relationship with Jesus. But how does He cause growth, and what does it require of us? How do we move beyond the struggles that this young rookie experienced?

We can compare the process of spiritual growth to seeds becoming fruit-bearing plants. God provides the rain and warm sun which triggers the seeds to germinate. 

But there will be no harvest if the farmer does not cultivate the soil, put the seeds in the ground and remove the weeds. Passive, lazy farmers don’t harvest much produce.

This week of devotionals focuses on four things that can have a direct effect on your spiritual growth in the coming months.

Today’s devotional is one of five this week on “Spiritual Growth” by Tom Petersburg.

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