05/22/2023
By Pastor Joe Romeo
David Powlison (1949–2019) has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His books and articles are filled with profound insights, moving personal stories, and the wise application of biblical truth. And it doesn't hurt that he writes like a dream.
Recently I read a portion of his blog, titled, "An Open Letter to Those Frustrated by Their Progress in Sanctification," which I'll share with you below:
There are seasons where progress in your spiritual growth goes very slowly. You wonder why you keep struggling with a temper, anxiety, or being clumsy in relationships. But often when we think about growth and transformation, we have an idealized image in our minds. I doubt that most of us picture honest struggles. It is not unusual for life to be difficult. We see things within ourselves that we wish would change, but we keep failing in some way. If sanctification means becoming like Christ, then the way we struggle is as much a part of our sanctification as some idealized image of what we hope that we would become.
There are also particular kinds of growth and strength that may be happening in our lives that we don't even see. Living in weakness doesn't necessarily feel like growth, but your heart may be becoming more generous to other people. You may have less of a sense of your rights and prerogatives, what you want to accomplish, or that you need to get credit. You have a growing sense that other people really matter. You can be gracious to them in their shortcomings and their heartaches. Now none of those things are splashy transformations. They're just good, quiet, strong, steady fruits of the Lord working in our lives.
If you add these two things together---realism about the ongoing struggle that makes you need the Lord, and then contentment with quiet, unspectacular graces in your life, then sanctification can, in fact, go forward, even when you're going through a hard patch in life.
