Spiritual Growth Is Not a Straight Line: 3 Powerful Truths on Trusting God’s Process

For many believers, the spiritual growth journey can feel like a performance review we are constantly failing. We feel a persistent pressure to achieve a perfect, straight-line progression toward holiness. When we inevitably stumble, a wave of discouragement washes over us, and we start to question if we’re making any real progress at all. This feeling of not measuring up is common, but it isn’t the truth of the gospel. I recently heard a sermon by Brother Steven Worrell at Metropolitan Baptist Church that felt less like a lecture and more like a family conversation led by a teacher who truly understands the struggle. His message, anchored in a single verse, offered a liberating perspective, and I walked away feeling a profound sense of relief. This article will explore three transformative takeaways from that sermon. These truths can free you from the pressure of perfection and anchor you in a deeper, more restful trust in God’s process for your life and your spiritual growth.

1. Your Spiritual Growth Isn’t a Straight Line—It’s a Jagged Path Upward

The first freeing truth is a realistic vision of “sanctification”—the lifelong process of God working in a believer to make them more like Christ. Brother Worrell emphasized that this process is rarely a smooth, upward climb. He offered a powerful visual analogy. Many of us imagine our spiritual growth should look like a perfectly straight, 45-degree line on a graph. But the reality, he explained, is far messier. He drew a jagged line on the board, narrating the believer’s inner monologue with raw honesty: “I’m safe. Thank God. Oh my goodness. What did I do? I’m saved. Thank God. Oh my God, I did it again. Oh my goodness. I’m still here. Praise God. Oh my goodness, I did it. Does that look familiar?” The crucial detail is that despite the chaotic ups and downs, the overall trajectory of the line is upward, moving steadily toward God. This messy reality isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a sign of genuine faith. As Brother Worrell pointed out, this struggle was confessed by the very author of our main verse in Philippians, the Apostle Paul himself, who wrote in Romans 7: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. For I have the desires to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” This single image shatters the illusion of perfection. It gives us permission to be human—to struggle, to fail, and to get back up without the crushing weight of believing we’ve been disqualified. Our messy journey isn’t evidence of God’s absence, but of His patient, persistent work in our spiritual growth.

2. Your Confidence Isn’t in Your Performance, It’s in God’s Promise for Spiritual Growth

If our spiritual growth is so inconsistent, where can we find our security? The sermon makes it clear: the foundation of a believer’s confidence is not in their own ability to be perfect, but in God’s unchanging character and His faithfulness to complete what He starts. This confidence rests on a logical foundation built from who God is. First, He is unchangeable. As He declares in Malachi 3:6, “For I the Lord do not change,” meaning His promises are steadfast and not subject to our fluctuating performance. Second, He is a Creator who finishes His work. Just as He created the heavens and the earth and repeatedly declared His work “good” and complete in Genesis, we can be confident He will bring the “good work” He begins in us to completion. Finally, He is ever-present, not a distant observer but a constant companion who promised, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is actively engaged in the process of our spiritual growth. This threefold confidence is crystalized in the sermon’s central verse, Philippians 1:6. This is the promise that holds us secure. “And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Embracing this truth shifts our focus from anxious self-evaluation to restful trust in God’s sovereign hand. Our security isn’t based on our ability to walk a straight line, but on the promise that the Author and Finisher of our faith will faithfully carry His work in us to its glorious conclusion, ensuring our spiritual growth.

3. The Clearest Sign of Growth in You Is How You Love Others

But this internal work is not invisible. The clearest sign of God working in you is how you love others. Brother Worrell didn’t just teach this principle; he embodied it. He began his sermon by having the entire church—strangers and friends alike—walk around and connect, demonstrating that our faith is fundamentally relational before a single theological point was ever preached. He explained that “the watching world will know we belong to God… by how we love each other.” This isn’t just about a warm feeling; it’s about practical action, a love connected directly to the command in Galatians 5:13 to “through love serve one another.” This principle is the ultimate identifier of a true follower of Jesus. As Christ himself stated, this is how the world can see the reality of His work in us. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” This final point makes spiritual growth a tangible, community-oriented reality, not a private, abstract feeling. The fruit of God’s sanctifying work is seen in how we care for, serve, and encourage our brothers and sisters in the family of God. Our growth is proven not just in our quiet times, but in our relationships.

Conclusion: Trusting the Author and Finisher Therefore, lay down the burden of self-evaluation. Your spiritual growth is not a performance to be graded but a masterpiece being sculpted. The path of faith is a messy, jagged journey upward, our security rests not in our own performance but in God’s unshakeable promise, and the clearest evidence of His work is the love we show others. Trust the Artist. Rest in His promise. And let the evidence of His work be seen not in a flawless record, but in a relentless love for the people He has placed around you. Knowing that God is the one responsible for completing His work in you, how might you approach your struggles and your relationships differently this week? Listen Full Sermon