Chapter 6

From Striving to Becoming

“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

Galatians 3:3 (KJV)

There is a difference between participating in growth and trying to produce our own transformation. Obedience requires action, but our effort is not the source. Jesus said, “for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 (KJV).

Effort Is Not Striving

If God tells us to forgive, flee temptation, apologize, practice discipline, or carry responsibility, we act. Striving begins when fear turns growth into a performance and we try to manufacture what only the Spirit can grow.

You Cannot Manufacture Fruit

Galatians 5:22–23 (KJV) calls it the fruit of the Spirit. Patience develops as we walk with the Spirit and practice obedience when impatience appears. Practice is not hypocrisy. Performance says, I need people to believe this is who I am. Practice says, God is teaching me to become this, so I will obey while He forms it in me.

Learning to Walk With Him

When my children were infants, I carried them because they could not walk. As they grew, they wanted down. They learned to walk, then run ahead. When it was safe, I let them. I could still see them. Sometimes they tripped, fell, or found mischief. Over time they learned to come back sooner and stay closer longer. Eventually they were not simply listening for me to call them back. They were walking beside me, learning my pace, noticing when I slowed, stopped, or turned. Spiritual maturity can look like that. There are seasons when God carries us, seasons when we learn to walk, and times when we run ahead thinking, I've got this. Maturity is not becoming capable enough to need Him less. It is learning the value of staying close enough to notice His steps. Spiritual maturity isn't measured by how far we can walk without God. Maybe it's measured by how deeply we've learned that we don't want to.

Grace Does Not Remove Responsibility

“God is working on me” is not permission to refuse what He has already made clear. Romans 6:1–2 (KJV) refuses the idea that grace excuses continued sin.

Cooperation With the Holy Spirit

The Spirit convicts; we listen. God's Word reveals; we receive. He asks us to surrender; we release. He tells us to move; we move. He tells us to wait; we wait. Remain. Then cooperate. And let God grow what only God can grow.