When I read Proverbs 31, the “woman of noble character” described there can feel out of reach. How could anyone actually live up to the standard the Proverbs 31 woman sets?
Then I remind myself — she wasn’t a woman rooted and established in God’s love overnight. Her character was built step by step, the same way we grow as we learn to know, live, and share God’s Word.
I’ve called myself a Christian woman for a long time, but it took years before I truly grew into that identity and calling. When I first started reading and studying Scripture, I had so much to learn. Looking back now, I can see the ground I’ve covered, and I’m thankful for every bit of it.
Spiritual growth isn’t instant. It’s a slow, steady process that asks for intentionality and time. Wherever you are on that path today, I hope this gives you a little encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to keep pressing forward in God’s Word.
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love…” — Ephesians 3:17
Spiritual Growth Takes Time
Like a child learning to walk, spiritual growth calls for patience, practice, and perseverance.
Watching my sons learn to walk was both nerve-wracking and wonderful. At first, they clung to my hands, wobbling one foot at a time, laughing as they discovered a brand-new way to move through the world.
Then came the moment they stood near a chair or the couch, eyes locked on where they wanted to go. They crawled first, then took those shaky, uncertain steps forward. Every part of me wanted to catch them before they fell, but I knew they needed to build their own balance and coordination — and the only way there was to let them stumble. Watching them discover what they were capable of, even while they were scared, was worth every anxious moment.
Spiritual growth works the same way. It’s a process built on time, discipline, and patience. But I promise, growth comes when you commit to three simple steps: Know, Live, and Share God’s Word.
Step One: Know God’s Word
Knowing facts about God is different from truly knowing His heart.
We get to know His heart the way we get to know anyone — by spending time together. That means Bible reading, study, prayer, memorizing Scripture, and worshiping both on our own and alongside others.
When God introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, He laid out His own character — compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, overflowing in love and faithfulness, and a God who forgives wrongdoing while still holding onto justice.
God is entirely holy (Isaiah 6:3) — not just a little more righteous than we are, but set apart in a category all His own. So how could imperfect people like us ever have a real relationship with Him?
The answer is Jesus. Because of His sacrifice, we get to know God personally. Jesus is the Living Word of God (John 1), and the moment we put our faith in Him, we’re saved by grace, not by anything we’ve earned (Ephesians 2:8-9). Knowing God’s Word is simply our way of loving Him back.
“…to know this love that surpasses knowledge.” — Ephesians 3:19
Once we experience a love that goes beyond what we can fully understand, knowing His Word stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like a joy — and that shift alone is often where real spiritual growth begins.
Step Two: Live God’s Word
Just like a toddler learns to walk by doing it, over and over, spiritual growth happens as we live out what Scripture teaches us.
Paul shows us in Ephesians what it looks like to walk as imitators of Christ. But what does it actually take to become rooted and established in love?
Think about any relationship — it grows only when you invest time and attention in it. Our relationship with God is no different. It deepens the more we spend time in His Word and in prayer. Reading a devotional or a chapter of the Bible is a good start, but real transformation happens when we let God actually change us through what we’re reading.
So how does that transformation take shape?
- Prayer has to go hand in hand with Bible reading. When we bring what we’ve read to God in prayer, He shows us how to live it out day to day.
- Our minds get renewed (Romans 12:2). The more Scripture soaks in, the more God reshapes our thoughts, our attitudes, and our emotions.
- Fruit starts to grow. A transformed heart naturally produces the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
- Purpose comes into focus. As we mature, we start to recognize our spiritual gifts and find real, meaningful ways to serve (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4) — much the way the Proverbs 31 woman poured her gifts into her home and community.
Living out God’s Word naturally leads us into the next step: sharing it with the people around us.
Step Three: Share God’s Word
“I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” — Ephesians 3:16
As spiritual growth takes root, our whole outlook starts to shift. We begin to see people the way God sees them and love them the way Jesus does.
Sharing our faith isn’t about pressure or forcing an awkward conversation — it’s about letting a changed life speak for itself. When we’re actually living God’s Word, sharing it with others stops feeling like a task and starts feeling like the natural next step.
One of the easiest ways to share your faith is through your own God story — your personal testimony of how He’s shown up in your life. (See also How to Share Your Three-Minute God Story.)
When our identity is anchored in Christ, other people’s opinions lose their grip on us. Instead, our energy goes toward loving and serving them well. Even if your voice shakes the first time or two you share your story, God’s strength carries you — and that’s how His Word gets passed on through your own God story. (see Eph. 3:16 above)
- Knowing God’s Word shapes how we live.
- Living God’s Word shapes how we love others.
- Loving others is what leads us to share His Word.
Rooted and Established in Love
Paul’s prayer over the Ephesians is the same prayer I have for you: that God, out of His endless riches, would strengthen you deep in your spirit through His Spirit, so that Christ makes His home in your heart through faith — and that being rooted and established in love, you’d have the power, alongside every other believer, to grasp just how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of Christ really is, knowing a love that goes beyond anything we could fully understand, until you’re filled with the very fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).
Looking back over my own path of spiritual growth, I notice that whenever I drift from God’s Word, I start leaning on my own understanding instead — and my faith starts to wander. In those seasons, I love and serve the people around me with less intention, and my words lose their grace and gentleness.
But just like a toddler learning to walk, every time I stumble in my spiritual discipline, God is right there — ready to help me back up and take the next step toward Him.
Spiritual growth takes time, devotion, and perseverance. It comes in seasons, not all at once. But as we keep growing, serving, and loving others, that steady spiritual growth starts to shape us into something like the Proverbs 31 woman — not because we’re chasing her résumé, but because we’re rooted in the same love she was.
When we’re truly rooted and established in love, sharing God’s Word becomes simply how we live — and living God’s Word becomes natural, because He’s the One we love above all else.
