When Growth Looks Like Letting Go
The counterintuitive work God does when you're not building anything but trust
When we talk about “personal growth,” we almost always picture forward motion. More discipline. More success. More knowledge. More fruit. More platform. More fill-in-the-blank.
And to be fair, growth often does come with movement. God does use our gifts. He does expand our capacity. He doessharpen our skills.
But there’s another kind of growth He asks of us—and it feels a lot less like forward motion and a lot more like stillness.
It’s the kind of growth that doesn’t show up on a résumé or a highlight reel.
The kind that makes your flesh itch because it doesn’t look like progress.
It looks like silence.
Surrender.
Letting someone else take the lead—even when you know you could fix it faster.
Choosing not to control—even when your gut tells you to jump in and save the day.
Not leaning into your gifts, but into your God.
When God Says “Don’t Fix It”
This is the growth no one applauds.
When He says:
Don’t speak up.
Don’t offer the solution.
Don’t carry what’s not yours.
Let it play out.
Let Me handle it.
And your inner fixer is screaming, “But I’m gifted in this!”
And God says, “I know. But that’s not what you need growth in today.”
The Growth You Can’t Post About
This season, I’ve been preaching a three-line sermon to myself. Maybe you’ve heard a version of it too:
The past belongs to history.
The future belongs to God.
The present is a gift—so be present in it.
Sounds simple. But living it? That’s a different kind of strength.
It means letting go of the illusion that you can fix what’s behind you.
It means giving up the lie that you can control what’s ahead of you.
It means anchoring yourself fully, stubbornly, and maybe even quietly… here.
In the moment. In the unknown. In the “not-yet.”
This is where the real growth happens. Not the kind that builds a following—but the kind that builds a foundation.
Stop Striving, Start Rooting
If your version of growth has always meant doing more, solving more, or achieving more, maybe God is inviting you into something deeper.
Maybe He’s whispering:
This isn’t the season to build something big.
It’s the season to trust Me with what you can’t see.
It’s the season to grow deep, not wide.
Some of the strongest roots are formed when nothing is visible above the surface.
Your Turn
What’s something you’re carrying that God never asked you to fix?
What part of your past are you struggling to get past?
What part of your future are you trying to fast-forward?
Today’s growth might not look like progress, but don’t underestimate it. God doesn’t just build ministries, marriages, and movements—He builds people. And He often does His best work when we stop trying to rewrite history or play God and start learning to be present.
And if you’re trying to rebuild your life, but the tools you’ve been using keep breaking in your hands… grab a copy of The Jacked Up Life.
It’s not too late to re-pour the foundation of your life—not on your performance, but on the grace of God. Always available. Never earned. And strong enough to hold even the most jacked-up stories.
📖 Get the book here — and keep preaching to yourself.