Mike Focht 3/20/2026
Psalm 1 makes something very clear about spiritual maturity. It doesn’t happen all at once. If spiritual growth is like a tree, it begins with the seed of God’s Word and grows from there. If the way of the righteous is a path, we start following Jesus at a point, but we still have some distance to cover from there. In either illustration, days and diligence are required.
Patience is required for genuine spiritual growth and maturity. We do not grow in the timeframe that we would like to grow. We cannot force spiritual growth. We can only place ourselves in the position where God promises spiritual growth will take place. We commit our growth to the Lord, who conforms us into His image and likeness in His own timing and way.
Of course, God could work a miracle in a particular life if that was His pleasure, as He made Jonah’s gourd spring up. Our Master can do what He pleases, but we are accountable for doing what we are told. Exceptions do not negate the rule. God grows most plants slowly. The same way He grows most saints.
How does this knowledge equip us for our battle against our various sins and temptations? By reminding us to keep ourselves in the place where God can grow us. Our spiritual growth doesn’t happen by us. Spiritual growth happens to us. Our part is to submit ourselves to the processes God has designed, just as a tree grows as it is subject to the effects of sunshine and water. Growth happens, but the plant is not trying to make it happen.
Day by day, you and I are called to submit to the Word of God and plant ourselves in the green fields of growth revealed in the Word, such as prayer, the fellowship of the saints, worship, service, etc. The growth processes will work in my heart and life in the nutrient rich earth of clear and commanded biblical soil. What makes a plant grow is neither secret nor complicated. Neither is what makes a Christian grow.
There are no shortcuts here. Many have searched for one and then abandoned the source of true Christian life because they become impatient with the process God has designed. The way of the righteous is a path well-trodden by the apostles, early saints, church fathers, and all the family of God. Right now, you may be a sapling that isn’t yet strong enough to hold ripe fruit on your branches. That is okay. God is patient with every sapling. His skillful hands tend and purge as He sees fit. But to become a strong tree, you must be planted by rivers of living water and draw each and every day. You must remain in the light of the Son. You must be filled with the sap of the Holy Spirit. You must be rooted in His love. You must be patient.
Do not lose heart because you are not seeing the growth you want as fast as you would like. God’s work is not somehow less efficient or less pleasing because it escapes our sight. Just abide in Him and allow His Word and Spirit to do the work in you. If you abide in Him, one day, you will wake up and realize you are exactly the person God wants you to be, and your life will produce the right fruit, in the right season, and in the right amount. Patient spiritual growth is a necessary part of spiritual maturity. Trees grow slowly.