Growing in Christ: God's Ordinary Hidden Ways
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”—2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)
[This blog series is a reflection on some of the themes I have written on this blog.]
In my part of the world, it’s winter. Though the trees look barren, I know they’re still growing beneath the surface—even in the cold. It won’t be long before the green buds of spring begin to appear again.
Sometimes, it feels like winter in the soul too. It’s easy to wonder if God is doing anything in these times when the vibrancy of faith feels like a thing of the past. We might even feel spiritually dead inside. (I’ve felt that.)
But just as the tree is preparing internally for the spring’s flowers and the summer’s fruit, God does the same thing in these dormant seasons. He’s in supervising the growth then, just as He is when faith is in full bloom. From the first call of salvation to the day we are glorified with Christ, He is at work, even when that growth remains hidden from view.
As I’ve been revisiting older posts on this blog, I thought I’d remind myself, in no particular order, of how God works in these quiet ways. My prayer is that they might help you notice His often unseen work in your own life as well. These are not a checklist to follow or how-to steps toward maturity, but a reflection on how God has connected the dots in my own walk.
Ordinary Ways God Shapes Us Over Time
1. God Teaches Us Through His Word
Sometimes I can’t get enough of God’s Word. At other times, it seems dry as hay.
But every time I show up to study or pray through Scripture, even when I don’t want to, He teaches me something about Himself, about myself, or about life here “under the sun.” The more I am steeped in it, the more my mind is transformed to think differently.
This is slow, unseen work but it does begin to impact my life. I’ve seen this in my writing, as God’s truth seeps out in these posts. As I grapple with expressing what I’ve learned, He uses this process to help me internalize these truths even more deeply.
What passage of Scripture is God slowly working into your understanding to shape your heart?
2. God Shapes Us Through Ordinary Practices
Though obeying Him through practicing spiritual disciplines is not the goal of the Christian life, it does play a role. Much of my transformation happened not in dramatic moments, but in the small, repeated daily efforts to worship in the everyday. God uses these steady routines to form habits that orient our hearts toward Him, even when no one sees.
I’ve noticed that I write a lot about disciplines but I want to clarify these are not rules or laws to follow. They certainly do not earn you a place in heaven! Rather, they are (as my pastor would say) pathways of grace God uses to both help us make space for His presence and help us grow.
What ordinary practices or habits is God using to cultivate growth in your life, even when the results are not immediately visible?
3. God Works Beneath the Surface of the Heart
God often begins our growth by working beneath the surface—helping us understand our emotions, examine our motives, and learn humility in the ordinary places of life. Most recently, since we adopted our daughter, God has helping me name and untangle emotions, especially as I wrestled with my pain and anger.
Part of this included the discipline of regularly bringing my heart before Him to do this quiet work. As I learn to see myself rightly before God, I can share more wisely and carefully with others too.
What is God currently exposing beneath the surface of your heart? How is He reshaping your emotions, your words, or the motives?
4. God Confronts Sin and Temptation
Though an unpopular topic in polite conversations, I’ve noticed that I do spend a lot of time on this blog talking about sin—including my own. Growth in Christ is inseparable from the ongoing work of confronting sin in our hearts. I don’t like it as much as the next person, but God’s underground “heart work” of noticing, confessing, and turning from sin—often repeatedly—is where He has been working on the most.
This has included learning to flee temptation, examining habits around social media (I wrote about this in 3 parts: Should I Get Back on Social Media?, Taming the Social Media Beast, How to Social Media Fast), and noticing attitudes that cling to control or pride.
What recurring sins or struggles might God be using to refine your heart, and how can you lean on Him in these moments rather than relying on self-effort?
5. God Cultivates Gratitude That Leads to Obedience
When I was younger, I thought obedience to God’s commands proved my sincerity and faith. This put a lot of pressure on me to perform.
But over the past few years, God has been cultivating obedience through a different pathway: by focusing on Him, and what He has done for me. At first, it felt like a sacrifice of worship that I had to intentionally remember, especially since there were days when it was hard to find reasons to be grateful.
It took a long time, but as I began to thank God, I began to trust Him too. Thanksgiving reminded me of His goodness and His greatness, encouraging me to let go or “shrink” so that Christ may increase. Though I am still learning this lesson, this trust teaches me to see present trials in light of what is still to come so that I may obey Him out of gratefulness instead of fear.
Where might God be inviting you to practice gratitude right now—not to minimize difficulty, but to help your heart move toward trusting obedience?
6. God Refines Us Through Perseverance and Discernment
For me, growing in perseverance is a painful lesson I need to learn. As I deal with ongoing and everyday difficulties with our daughter, God is helping me learn patience and endurance, even in times of suffering. He is teaching me how to discern spiritual opposition as Satan uses my pain as his opportunity to draw me away from God.
But instead of viewing suffering as punishment, God takes my steps of faith in my times of weakness to help me grow, change and mature. As I intentionally seek to grow in Him through my trials by turning to His Word and prayer, He helps me question the enemy’s lies so I can see His path out of that temptation to give up (1 Cor. 10:13).
How might your trials be a place where you intentionally grow in perseverance? How might this context actually be an invitation to dive deep into a newer understanding of faith or give discernment?
Connecting the Dots: Seeing God’s Faithfulness Across Your Journey
As 2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us, God grows us one degree at a time as we keep our eyes on Him. Just as it’s hard to notice a tree’s growth during the winter, it may be hard to see the Spirit’s steady and unceasing work.
But He is at work through the ordinary comings and goings of life and one day, we’ll look back to see how far He has grown us. Until then, let us keep faithfully following Him who first loved us.
