One of the most discouraging parts of the Christian life is how slow growth can feel.

When we first come into faith, we often imagine transformation happening quickly. We expect old habits to disappear, fears to fade, and spiritual maturity to develop much sooner than it does. We assume that after enough prayers, enough Bible reading, and enough time following Jesus, we should feel noticeably different.

But many Christians reach a point where they start wondering if they are making any progress at all.

You still struggle with certain temptations. You still have moments of doubt. You still lose patience. You still battle fear, anxiety, pride, or insecurity. And because those struggles remain, it is easy to conclude that nothing is changing.

Maybe you have even found yourself asking questions like these:

"Why am I still struggling with this?"
"I thought I would be further along by now."
"Everyone else seems to be growing except me."
"Am I doing something wrong?"

If you have ever felt that way, you are not alone.

One of the reasons Christians become discouraged is because we expect growth to be obvious.

We look for instant breakthroughs and visible victories. We expect spiritual growth to look like a straight line moving steadily upward.

But that is not how growth works.

Think about a tree for a moment. If you planted a seed today and came back tomorrow, it would not look much different. The same would be true next week and probably next month. Yet beneath the soil, something important would be happening. Roots would be spreading. Strength would be developing. The tree would be growing long before anyone could see evidence of it above the ground.

The same is often true in our walk with God.

Some of God's most important work happens beneath the surface where nobody can see it, including us.

One of the things I love about Jesus is that He often used ordinary things to explain extraordinary truths.

One day, He compared spiritual growth to a seed planted in the ground. The farmer scattered the seed and then simply got on with his life. He went to sleep, woke up, and carried on with his days while something remarkable was happening beneath the surface.

Mark 4:27 says: "Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how."

Imagine if the farmer dug up the seed every morning to check whether it had grown. He would never give it the chance to take root.

I wonder how many of us do something similar with our faith.

We look at ourselves every day, searching for dramatic change. We expect to be more patient overnight, more loving by next week, stronger in our faith by next month. And when we cannot see obvious progress, we assume nothing is happening.

But that is not how seeds grow.

And it is often not how God grows us either.

Some of His greatest work happens quietly, beneath the surface, long before anyone can see the fruit.

When we read the Gospels, it is easy to view the disciples through the lens of who they eventually became.

We remember Peter preaching boldly after Pentecost. We remember the courage of the early church. We remember men whose lives helped change the world.

What we often forget is how slowly that growth happened.

These were men who walked with Jesus personally, yet they still misunderstood Him. They still argued with each other. They still struggled with fear and doubt. Peter denied Jesus. Thomas doubted the resurrection. James and John argued about status and recognition.

Even with Jesus physically present, their growth was gradual.

And still Jesus continued teaching them, correcting them, and patiently shaping them over time.

He is doing the same with us.

One of the most helpful things you can do when progress feels invisible is to stop comparing today to yesterday and start comparing today to a year ago or a few years ago.

Ask yourself honestly. How did you handle conflict a year ago compared to now? How quickly did you give up on prayers? How much did fear control your decisions? How did you treat people when you were under pressure?

You may not immediately spot growth. But when you look back over a longer stretch of time, it often becomes visible in ways you do not see day to day.

The disciples did not wake up every morning feeling themselves becoming braver. But look at Peter on the day of Pentecost compared to the man who denied Jesus three times in a courtyard. The growth happened. It just happened slowly.

What to do when growth feels slow

Stop measuring yourself against other people. You do not know what someone else's private battles look like. The person who appears most spiritually mature in the room may be carrying struggles you cannot see. God is not growing you on someone else's timeline. He is growing you on yours.

Be honest with God about your frustration. It is okay to tell Him that you feel stuck. That you expected to be further along. That you are tired of fighting the same battles. The Psalms are full of people saying exactly that. Honesty with God is not a lack of faith. It is a show of faith.

Trust the process more than the feeling. Feelings of stagnation are not evidence that nothing is happening. They are evidence that growth is happening in places you cannot currently measure. The roots go down before the branches go up.

Keep showing up. The farmer in Jesus's parable did not stop working because he could not see the seed growing underground. He kept doing what he was supposed to do and trusted the growth to happen in its own time. Keep praying even when it feels hollow. Keep reading the Bible even when you don't feel encouraged straight away. Keep coming back even after falling. That consistency is not nothing. It is everything.

One last thing

There is a moment in the Gospel of John that is easy to read past.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and showed them His hands and His side. Thomas, who had refused to believe without seeing for himself, looked at Jesus and said something surprising.

He said my Lord and my God.

The same man who doubted. The same man the disciples had to tell over and over that Jesus was alive. The same man who said unless I see it with my own eyes I will not believe.

That man became one of the most devoted followers Jesus ever had. History tells us he carried the gospel far beyond the borders of Israel.

Growth happened. It just did not happen on Thomas's timeline or in the way Thomas expected.

John 20:29 says: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

You are one of those people. You have not seen Jesus with your own eyes and yet you keep coming back. You keep believing even when the growth feels invisible. You keep showing up even when you feel like you are not making progress.

Do not confuse slow growth with no growth.

God is far more patient with your growth than you are.

Keep walking with Him.

One day, you'll look back and realise He was changing you long before you noticed it.

✝ Kingdom Mantra

Is there an area of your life where growth has felt painfully slow? Hit reply to this email or drop a comment below if you are reading this on our website. I would love to hear from you and pray with you. God bless you and do have a great weekend. ❤️