Sometimes I don’t believe my head and my heart communicate with one another. Do you have this problem? I can tell myself 100 times: You need to get up and exercise because it benefits your health and wellness. Or, pick up that book you’ve been slowly working through, it’s better for your brain and vocabulary than binge-watching Netflix. But often my heart’s cravings win over my head’s logic.
I think we all struggle with this tension.
I know in my head that God loves me. I know I received His righteousness, that I don’t have to work for my worth or continue to compare myself to everything and everyone. But I am swayed by lies, and the truth stays in my head and struggles to make its home in my heart. How do I know this? Because my actions don’t follow suit with God’s truth. I long to grow closer to God and experience Him, yet it seems I am stuck on a hamster wheel of continuously putting everything else ahead of what I believe is true.
Why do we continue to think about wanting to grow closer to God but find it scary to step off our seemingly comfortable hamster wheels? What is holding us back?
Here are three mindsets hindering our next growth step:
1). We give God our leftovers
We live in a world that is grabbing our attention everywhere we turn. Our schedules are crammed with all the things we think or feel are most important to us. Somehow these external things have become our main concern. More simply put, our priorities are out of whack. We are giving God our leftovers. We offer Him the little bit we have left of our time, finances or passion. But to truly experience and draw closer to our Father, we must be confident in resigning all to Him. Paul shared this in his letter to the Philippians:
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. (Phil. 3:7-8)
2). Fear
Let’s be honest, our fear can cripple us. What happens if we step off this comfortable hamster wheel and step toward Christ? What does it look like? Growth is not about knowing, it’s about becoming. Don’t be afraid. One of the beautiful parts of our journey toward Christ is that we don’t have to do it alone. We have been given a gift of community. We are “becoming” together. In order to “become,” we don’t want to simply learn about Jesus, we want to follow Him.
James 1:22 says this: Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! (MSG)
3). Not knowing how
It’s easy to believe we can’t do something if we don’t know how to do it in the first place. Our culture has answered these concerns with resources like the DIY channel, Pinterest and YouTube videos. At Hoboken Grace, we have answered with numerous growth opportunities for your next step! Don’t fall victim to the lie that you can’t do something if you don’t know how. We are happy to journey alongside you as you figure out what is next for you. As we follow Christ, we will be asked to do things that we may not understand or have never done before. The question is: Will we obey?
Although we battle the tension between what our heads know and what our hearts crave, we can confidently move toward Christ by making God a priority, letting go of fear and giving up the notion that we have to have it all figured out.
So, what’s your next step? Here are a few to consider:
Join a dinner group: Don’t go through life alone. Surround yourself with others on this journey who will encourage you to grow spiritually. Find your group today.
Sign up for Amplify: Pick one of seven growth tracks in an area you want to “Amplify.”
Visit the “Next Steps” page: Find a full list of growth opportunities on the “Next Steps” page of Hoboken Grace’s website.
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