Growing Is a Pain

I have to agree with David. Spiritual growth is a lot like physical exercise. It is all about faithfulness, commitment and consistency, and somewhere in there has to be desire.

Consistently Growing
I find that consistency is the key thing in maintaining relationships. For instance, I talk to my husband every day to maintain a healthy relationship with him. I call my mom every day to keep a healthy relationship with her. In much the same way, we have to spend time with God every day to stay close to him. Just think about it. Those people we only talk to once a week or once a month are not very close to us. If we truly want to grow we have to make a concious effort to spend time with God every single day. When I made this personal commitment in my life a few years ago, it change my spiritual walk completely. I went from being someone whose spiritual zeal was "on-again, off-again", to being someone who grows consistently in God.

What is it going to take?
Keeping the commitment to talk to God every day is easier to talk about than accomplish. You can't reach your ultimate goal in one day. It takes time and practice. Somedays you forget to spend time with God or simply run out of time. That's ok. Just ask God to forgive you and keep on trying. So in the marathon of life, keep pushing and keep running. You will eventually meet your goal.

Of course, growth will take some sacrifices. You will have to give up some things, and some times you will even experience growing pains. However, it is all worth the cost and sacrifice. I assure you of that. So...get up and keep on going. You will make it!