What do you think God wants your relationship with Him to look like? How would you define success in your spiritual life?
When many Christians consider this question, we can be tempted to think of a few things:
- Actions: Am I serving God? Am I refraining from sin?
- Internal state of being: Am I peaceful? Am I joyful or happy? Do I “feel” God?
- External level of success: Am I bearing fruit for the kingdom of God?
While these are all great things, they are imperfect barometers of “victory” in our spiritual lives.
Why will these definitions of victory fail us?
First, actions cannot be relied upon to assess victory because they tell nothing of the status of our hearts. If we do the “right” thing but with a wicked or contemptuous heart, we are still falling short of what God wants for us. God doesn’t seek people who simply act obediently, but those who have blameless hearts towards Him. (2 Chronicles 1:9 – For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.)
Similarly, our level of internal peace is not a good barometer to assess victory because we may “feel” peaceful but not actually be in step with God’s will. Often our heart can deceive us and we may believe certain paths are “right” when they actually lead to destruction. Though being peaceful can be an indicator we are trusting God and in line with His will, it is not a guarantee. (Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?)
Finally, our external level of success, even spiritual fruit, is also not necessarily an indicator of victory. Spiritual fruit is mysterious and rarely occurs along the timelines we expect. We may often do the “right” thing, but fail to see fruit simply because God’s timelines differ from our own. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have invested in those places, just that we aren’t privy to how God will use every one of our actions.
Furthermore, when fruit does occur, it is often the result of many factors beyond ourselves and is due to God’s handiwork. Thus fruit is not something we should take credit for or use to validate that we’re achieving victory – but something to thank God for – for apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing).
So, where should we aim?
Instead, our spiritual victory should be defined by our posture and relationship with God. Are we communing with Him? Are our hearts supple and humble before Him? Do we confess our weaknesses and ask for Him to change our hearts?
One reason this is also a better bullseye to aim towards is because from this other things follow. A heart that is truly connected to God will prompt acts of service, will seek to be gracious, will have peace in the midst of trials, and will eventually bear fruit (whether or not we see it this side of Heaven). The most important aim we can have is to be connected to the Heart of our Father, and the other common indicators of victory we often think of will follow.
We see this clearly throughout the story of David. The Lord called David “a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), despite the reality that David committed some very serious sins. Why? Because even when David committed sins such as adultery and murder, his heart was supple before God – he was quick to confess and repent.
Scripture to consider
2 Samuel 11 details the story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and David’s murder of her husband, Uriah. Chapter 12 details Nathan (a prophet) rebuking David for what he has done. See below for 2 Samuel 12:7-13:
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,
‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’”
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
We can see in the story of David that David’s sin didn’t define him. Instead, because David was repentant and had a posture of humility towards God, God spared David’s life and still saw him as a man after his own heart. Relatedly, achieving victory in our relationship with God does not depend on our actions, our holiness, or our accomplishments – but on having a humble heart before God and seeking communion with Him.
We see this theme elsewhere in scripture too – that God cares more about the posture of our hearts than our actions or successes:
Hosea 6:6 – For I desire steadfast love[a] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Mark 12:33 – And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Closing thoughts
While maintaining a humble heart before God is not necessarily an easy task, it is freeing. It means we can give ourselves grace when we fall short and sin – because our actions don’t define us. We can run to God in the emotional highs or the anxious lows – because our thoughts and feelings don’t define us. We can stop exhausting ourselves by trying to achieve certain things or bear enough fruit to prove ourselves – because our external level of success doesn’t define us.
Instead, we can turn to God with in any moment, in any state of abundance or of need and seek to draw close to Him. Because of the blood of His son Jesus Christ, our Father stands with open arms, waiting to embrace us. And when we do this, regardless of our circumstances, our sin, or our shortcomings, we are victorious.
Reflection questions:
- What are some of the different ways you have thought about your spiritual victory in the past? What are some of the ways you think of your spiritual victory today?
- How do you think God thinks of success or victory in your personal relationship with Him?
- Is there anything about this that is freeing?
- Is there anything about this that is difficult?
- What are some specific ways you can work towards resetting your definition of spiritual victory this week?
