A Sunday-school teacher I had once gave me an illustration of what spiritual growth looks like which I believe is very effective at encouraging us when we see our imperfection. My teacher explained that the walk of faith is like shooting a pinball into a big triangle with a small opening in its tip. The ball is launched with a lot of power from the wide base of the triangle, but it quickly veers off to one side and hits a wall on the right. This is where the Christian becomes too uptight and overly-zealous for God. Once he realizes that he is not headed toward the point of the triangle, this person then bounces back toward the middle. Over-correcting for his previous mistake, he keeps rolling till he bumps into the left side of the triangle. This is where the person realizes they have become too careless and compromising. Again he bounces off the wall and is propelled in the opposite direction, and the cycle repeats itself over and over again as the ball heads toward its target.

     The person going through this process may view themselves as falling into the same sins repeatedly, yet they do not see the progress they are making each time they bounce back toward the center. Over time, the path of the ball will become much more narrow and the Christian will discover a new level of stability in his life.

     Now of course, this picture is not a perfect metaphor of what spiritual growth is like, because sometimes it seems like our “ball” is moving backward rather than forward. The point is that as long as we keep pressing on, we will learn the lessons God is teaching us and gain the discernment we need to quit falling into error so dramatically. Things will vastly improve for us eventually.

     Another way to view life is to see ourselves as babies when we are born-again. Over a period of decades we will grow up into adults. Along the way though, the changes will seem so insignificant that we will not be able to tell anything has happened from one week to the next. We may have awesome encounters with the Holy Spirit and receive many messages which satisfy our hunger for the Lord, yet we cannot measure any rise in our height for quite a long time. Unless we experience a major growth spurt, we will have to wait years to see huge improvements in our lives.

     We cannot be hard on ourselves when things do not seem to be working fast in our pursuit of godliness. It is normal for us to have a long journey before being brought to our ultimate calling. Our Father is not nearly as frustrated with us as we are, and His word promises us, “He shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Cor. 1:8). No matter how many times it takes, we can declare to Satan, “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy! Though I fall I will rise! Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.” (Micah 7:8). Our God is faithful to see us through.