You've made commitments. You've looked into your life and saw the need for spiritual growth, even if you are not sure exactly what that means. Now it's time to take your first step. But before you do, I want to warn you about it.This journey is long and tiresome. Jesus said the road to heaven is difficult and narrow. Many won't make it because they will quit. But not you. That's why you're here reading this. You must be ready to learn what to do to grow.
Another warning is that spiritual growth may not seem to be so "spiritual" to you at first. That's partly because the world has taken that term and made it into something more related to emotional growth. Emotions are part of the spirit, but not the totality. The spirit is YOU. Essentially we are talking about your own personal development and growth. But that idea also carries baggage. We are not looking merely at getting better at some aspect of life, though we will focus on the various parts. You can be a great Dad, employee, boss, athlete, or whatever and still be spiritually lacking. A great spiritual person will be a great Dad, employee, boss, or athlete but also MORE than those.
Your first practical step to growth is a big one that will need to be broken into smaller parts, but they are all accomplishing the same thing. Your first step is to make the changes you need to have greater self-control.
- There are things that are holding you back. You need to find them and destroy them by replacing them with better things. That is the essence of self-control.
- There are things that you should be doing but aren't. You need to discover them and find a way to put them into your life.
- There are things that you need to learn. You should be in a habit of learning the right things in life. Start with the Bible. Discover the things you need to learn and prioritize them by importance.
You can't do this all at once. You need to make decisions, and (believe it or not) those decisions will reveal what is important to you. That information, if you are wise enough to collect it, will be extremely valuable in helping you take this step. Analyze your decisions and ask why you chose the way you did. Then ask if those were the best reasons to make those choices.
Try not to overthink things. You have the rest of your life to grow. Just start. Pick something important and begin making changes.
To help with perspective, try these ideas:
- Choose to add or take away based on what God wants for your life, to the best of your knowledge.
- Christianity is not just about morality, but that's a great place to start.
- Think about body, soul, and spirit. Or another way to think of it is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
- Ask if there is something you can add to your life that will affect all the parts just mentioned. Kill as many birds with one stone as possible!
- Replace, don't quit. Essentially you are quitting by replacing, but to quit without replacing is asking for more trouble to come.
- Ask people for insight.
- Give yourself a deadline for decisions and stick to it. If it takes more than a few days to get started you are overthinking it.
- If you need some help starting or starting again, look at this.
- If you are overthinking it, try reading this.
- Overcome your self-doubt. You can do this!
The First of Many
We may be tempted to downplay the start. We have all started things and quit soon after. Taking your time and making your start be genuine and purposeful will help you stay focused. You will have ups and downs. You will face many challenges and learn many lessons (sometimes over and over), but you can do it! And you don't have to be alone in it.
Are you just starting a spiritual growth journey? is it your first time or are you returning to it after stopping in the past? Either way, comment below what your goals are, or message me and let's get to know each other! There is so much to growth that I want to share, so keep coming back to this blog.
I'm Jason Sparks and I empower men aged 30-45 to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors and find purpose through a holistic approach to personal development, integrating spiritual growth, career stability, and natural healing methods. Join me on Facebook for free. JOIN
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