We must choose to get closer to God every day
When I first sat down to think about what it takes to grow spiritually, it hit me, Spiritual growth isn’t something that happens naturally like a child growing physically over time. It’s a decision that we must make on a daily basis if we want to be closer to God.
We have to train ourselves to grow. When people train for something what do they typically do first? They map out a plan of how they will get better over time. We have to to do the same thing as Christians.
1 Timothy 4:7-8
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
As you can see in the scripture above, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy that we must train ourselves to be Godly. So how do we do that?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
4 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
After reading 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 it’s obvious to me that in order to grow spiritually, one of the things I have to do is not only train myself but be disciplined and not beat the air aimously without any discipline as the scripture reads in 26-27.
In order to grow spiritually and get closer to God we have to set out a time each and every day to pray and read the Bible. We need to be in communication with our Lord and talk to him and let him talk to us through His word.
Something that stuck out to me when reading 1 Corinthians is that the bible uses the word “strict”, which means, demanding total obedience. We must be obediant to God in our spiritual training.
Training is vital because it will help us align our lives with the scriptures.
1 Timothy 4:16
16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
It’s easy to get distracted by things that happen in our day-to-day lives, which is why we need to make sure that our lives are lining up with the scriptures because it’s easy to get off track.
In my 17 years as a Christian the one thing I’ve realized is that it’s hard to grow. At the end of the day it’s a choice that you have to make each and every day. Just like with exercising, it’s something that you have to choose to do and want to do.
The good news is that you don’t have to run the race alone. As Christians we should push one another and encourage each other. Fellowship is the third aspect of spiritual growth.
Hebrews 10:24
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
Proverbs 27:17
17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone.
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
If you’re struggling to grow spiritually, we can help you here at Providence Church. fill out our prayer list form and we would love to help you get closer to God. We would also love to sit down with you and go over the scriptures and help you see how much God loves you and wants to be close to you.
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