How Are You Feeling?

Many Christians measure their spiritual lives by the way they feel and they are convinced they are not growing spiritually. They regularly attend church, hear God’s Word preached, read their Bibles, and diligently pray. But they feel that they’re not making much progress. One saint told me, “I used to weep easily before the Lord but now I’m not as tenderhearted as I once was. I’m simply not growing.”

The apostle Paul likens our spiritual growth to the growth of our bodies. He says our souls are nourished in the same way we are physically: “The Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Colossians 2:19).

Simply put, as you trust and abide in Christ (the Head), a never-ending measure of his life is pumped into your soul. Jesus is a constant life-force in your being, a living stream that never shuts down. Therefore, his life is constantly flowing into you, even when you are sleeping. He provides a fresh supply of his life to you every day, no matter how you feel on the outside.

Jesus is the bread sent to us from heaven to build up our spiritual immune system against sin of all kind. We may not see outward signs of this (just as we do not see our physical body’s immune system growing stronger). But God’s Word promises that all who love Jesus will grow stronger in their spiritual immunity.

Think about it. At times you will be tempted, but over the years you have found a growing power to resist the world’s seductions. You may think your growth is fixed, with no forward motion. But God has given us this covenant promise: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:13).  So be encouraged — you are growing!