Living life to the fullest impresses upon us the need to grow. Growth is the most natural sign of life, and that applies both at the natural and spiritual levels.
If you're not growing, then you're not living. When we surrender our life to Christ, He sets our spirits back to life, which means that consequently it will grow.
We all experience growth through a deeper revelation of Christ and the constant leading of the Holy Spirit.
But just like natural growth, spiritual growth can be stunted by wrong mindsets that hold us back from experiencing more of Christ. Here are five unhealthy mindsets that inhibit spiritual growth.
1. Focusing on the External
Spiritual growth is mostly internal growth and may oftentimes not coincide with external change. When we focus too much on external growth at the expense of internal growth, we stop growing spiritually. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us, "...For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
2. Giving God the Leftovers
Sometimes we resort to giving God only what little we have left—what finances, time, and passion we have left.
But if we really want to experience the full work of Christ in our life, we must resign all to Him, trusting that He alone has our best interest in mind. God has shown to be faithful with what we offer to Him over and over again. Hence, there is no need to doubt Him if we give Him more of ourselves as we progress in our walk with Him.
3. Trusting in Your Own Strength
In 1 Corinthians 3:7, Paul speaks of church growth as being caused only by God. There's no reason to believe that the same isn't true for the individual. We grow not because of the things we do, although we can fast-track growth in little ways. But, seeing things from the bigger picture, God causes our growth based not on our strength but on His faithfulness.
4. Failing to Maximise the Hardships
One of the ways God causes growth is through trial and testing. In the same way, sharpening and pruning are painful yet effective ways to grow and improve. God will allow trials to come to stretch our faith and character. James 1:2-3 reminds us, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
5. Waiting to be Perfect to Respond to God's Call
Another wrong mindset we may have is to think that we have to be mature before God uses us to minister to others.
Actually, it is in ministering to others that God allows even more maturity and growth to come. As God uses us to help others grow, He uses those opportunities to grow us as well.
