Spiritual Formation
Training, Not Trying
The apostle Paul uses an athletic image to describe the Christian life:
In this passage, Paul highlights a crucial distinction when it comes to spiritual growth. There is a profound difference between trying to change and training to change.
Dallas Willard famously illustrated this difference by asking whether someone could walk into a gym and bench press 350 pounds. Most people cannot, no matter how hard they try. But with the right training over time, it becomes possible. The same is true in music, athletics, and every area of meaningful growth.
Spiritual transformation works the same way.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize… I do not run aimlessly… I discipline my body and keep it under control.”
— 1 Corinthians 9:24–27
In this passage, Paul highlights a crucial distinction when it comes to spiritual growth. There is a profound difference between trying to change and training to change.
Dallas Willard famously illustrated this difference by asking whether someone could walk into a gym and bench press 350 pounds. Most people cannot, no matter how hard they try. But with the right training over time, it becomes possible. The same is true in music, athletics, and every area of meaningful growth.
Spiritual transformation works the same way.
Trying Harder Isn’t the Path to Change
Many of us assume that becoming more Christlike simply requires more effort. Pray harder. Try harder. Be better. But Scripture and experience both tell us that lasting change does not come from willpower alone.
Real growth requires training, not just intention. Training reshapes habits, rhythms, and desires over time. It forms us from the inside out.
To be a disciple of Jesus means our goal is to live as Jesus would live if He were in our place. That kind of life does not happen accidentally. It happens when we intentionally arrange our lives around practices and relationships that make transformation possible.
John Ortberg says it well:
“We tend to overestimate what we can do by trying.”
Real growth requires training, not just intention. Training reshapes habits, rhythms, and desires over time. It forms us from the inside out.
To be a disciple of Jesus means our goal is to live as Jesus would live if He were in our place. That kind of life does not happen accidentally. It happens when we intentionally arrange our lives around practices and relationships that make transformation possible.
What Are Spiritual Disciplines?
Dallas Willard wrote that true transformation is possible when we rearrange our lives around the activities Jesus Himself practiced in order to remain connected to the Father. Practices like prayer, Scripture, solitude, fasting, and worship were not religious obligations for Jesus. They were the means through which He lived in continual fellowship with God.
Over time, these practices have become known as spiritual disciplines.
John Ortberg offers helpful clarity by defining them this way:
Over time, these practices have become known as spiritual disciplines.
John Ortberg offers helpful clarity by defining them this way:
- A discipline is any activity that helps me do what I cannot currently do by direct effort.
- A disciplined person is someone who can do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, for the right reason.
- A spiritual discipline is a practice that positions me to receive power from the Holy Spirit to live a transformed, God-honoring life.
What Spiritual Disciplines Are Not
Spiritual disciplines are not a way to measure how spiritual you are. They are not tools for comparison or bragging rights. The goal is not to impress God or others.
They are not about earning God’s love or gaining spiritual bonus points. God does not love you more because you practice disciplines, and He does not love you less when you struggle.
Spiritual disciplines are also not reserved for pastors, monks, or especially spiritual people. They are meant for ordinary followers of Jesus who want to grow.
They are not about earning God’s love or gaining spiritual bonus points. God does not love you more because you practice disciplines, and He does not love you less when you struggle.
Max Lucado puts it simply:
“God loves you just the way you are. His love is not based on performance.”
Spiritual disciplines are also not reserved for pastors, monks, or especially spiritual people. They are meant for ordinary followers of Jesus who want to grow.
Choosing a Life of Training
The good news of the Gospel is that change is possible. We can become more like Jesus. That is God’s desire for every believer.
But it will not happen by simply trying harder.
Transformation happens when we choose to enter into a life of training. When we wisely and graciously shape our lives around the practices Jesus modeled. When we trust that God meets us in those rhythms and uses them to form us over time.
Spiritual formation is not about striving. It is about surrendering to the process God uses to make us whole.
And that journey begins when we stop trying and start training.
But it will not happen by simply trying harder.
Transformation happens when we choose to enter into a life of training. When we wisely and graciously shape our lives around the practices Jesus modeled. When we trust that God meets us in those rhythms and uses them to form us over time.
Spiritual formation is not about striving. It is about surrendering to the process God uses to make us whole.
And that journey begins when we stop trying and start training.
Posted in Grow as a Believer