Do you lose almost all drive when you suffer?
Do you find it nearly impossible to feel a sense of self-worth or love?
Is it hard to motivate yourself to “be good”?
You should consider taking Jesus’ spiritual path to personal development.
Why?
Having weak faith makes it easy for our lives to fall apart when we are stressed. This happens because we have a lack of purpose in suffering, we are unaware of divine love, and we are not motivated to do what is right. These weaknesses cause people to crumble when they encounter tragedy or rejection.
If you don’t have faith, becoming the greatest version of yourself is reduced to simply an option. There is no heavenly reward to work for or hellish punishment to avoid. No expectation of eternal relationships or satisfying life after death. Developing yourself for no eternal reason doesn’t give us enough reward for the life-long difficulties that personal growth demands.
A spiritual path–faith–is crucial for personal development.
A Personal Perspective
When I say “faith” I’m not talking about a system of beliefs and authority to impose groupthink and control over individuals. That version of religion is not faith. It’s a weapon used by the weak to wield power. I’m talking about every human being’s ability and responsibility to develop a relationship with the spiritual things of life. Things like God, redemption, eternity, and destiny. I’m talking about a spiritual path.
Although there are several religions and spiritual paths that can help you grow personally, I’m going to write about Jesus Christ’s path. His teachings have led me to deep inner peace and powerful motivation to keep learning and developing.
This blog will explain four of Jesus’ teachings and show how they can maximize your personal development.
You Will Have Trouble
You Are Loved
Focus on Good and You’ll Be Good
Connecting with Jesus Fuels Growth
You Will Have Trouble
Jesus offers resilience through His frank speech about suffering in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus taught us to confront our battles instead of running away from them, and the latest neurological and psychological literature confirms this approach.
“If you avoid things that cause anxiety, you teach your brain to be more afraid.”
Despite the hardships we face in life, there’s always an opportunity for peace. Rather than sidestepping or ignoring problems – embrace them! When you confront your struggles and push through despite their obstacles, you can grow faster and with greater depth. Don’t let difficulty stand in the way of progress- use it to propel yourself forward!
Jesus Inspires Us to Face Our Troubles
There is no reason to doubt a successful outcome because Jesus has already proven himself victorious. His declaration that “He has overcome the world” points to an established spiritual path of success despite any impediments this world could throw at us.
Jesus knows how hard the human experience can be, and He also knows how to overcome.
He offers a reminder that even in the toughest times He will always provide strength. Jesus is not just our Savior but our guide. Since He’s already been down our road, He can direct us through the darkest of nights.
What can stop you from growing if you expect trouble and learn from a guy who has a proven path to victory? Nothing.
You Are Loved
Jesus teaches that we are loved by God. Jesus said in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world He gave His only Son.” God loved us enough to send Jesus to die to make a way to have a deep relationship with Himself.
This message of love reminds us that we are valuable even before we have succeeded, and even when we fail. Believing this exponentially increases the odds that you’ll grow as a person. Knowing that God’s love for you doesn’t hinge on your success gives you the freedom to learn and make mistakes as you grow because it opens the door for self compassion. There’s no fear of punishment from God when you fail.
There’s no way to skip the process of personal development, so beating yourself up for mistakes doesn’t help. Consciousness of Jesus’ love empowers you to accept that you are on a spiritual and personal journey. Your desired future will come, but it will take time. Awakening to the love of Jesus will bring you peace that will make it possible to keep growing.
Your personal development will skyrocket if you will dare to believe in Jesus’ love because human beings thrive on love. And the love Jesus spoke about is unending. Believing that you are loved forever–no matter what–is like filling your growth tank with an endless supply of fuel. You won’t be wasting your energy and time chasing after lesser loves like fame or people’s regard for you.
Focus on Good and You’ll Be Good
In Matthew 6:22, Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” You fill yourself with whatever you pay the most attention to just like light comes into the body through the eyes. If you focus on good things, you will feel good emotions and think good thoughts that lead to good choices that lead to good habits that lead to a good life.
The context for this statement in Matthew 6 gives us a good example of this principle. Jesus was talking about the dangers of greed and how to recover from greedy behaviors. Jesus implied that people hoarded things to their soul’s detriment because they focused on what they didn’t have. He told His followers to focus on what they have and their souls will be filled with good, positive emotions that lead to good behaviors.
If you focus on the good in your life, you’ll find yourself filled with all that you need to be good.
Focus On These Good Things
Maybe you weren’t trained to focus on good things. Don’t worry! The Bible is full of personal development knowledge. Not only does it offer stories of people who’ve succeeded and failed throughout their spiritual journey to give us encouragement and pointers along the way, it offers specific instruction on the type of thoughts that guarantee spiritual and personal growth.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about these things.”
Meditate on noble things–things that increase your dignity and the dignity of those around you. When you decide to think about yourself and others in a dignified manner, you will develop your sense of dignity and treat people respectfully.
Think on right things, the truth. Don’t allow yourself to believe lies about yourself, your situation, or other people.
Pure thoughts are positive affirmations, good intentions, and wisdom that purify our motives. Human beings have multiple motivations for every behavior and conversation. For every action, we have good intentions and bad ones. If we neglect to think pure thoughts, our layers of intentions become jumbled and send mixed signals of good and bad.
For example, a parent may want to teach their child the importance of telling the truth. Of course, that means a child must be appropriately disciplined when they lie. The desire to make the child happy and like the parent conflict with the desire to teach them to tell the truth. Pure thoughts would affirm the value of truth and love, the good intention of being a responsible parent, and place the motivations of the parent in a correct order so the parent administers responsible and consistent discipline process.
Lovely thoughts are thoughts about the positive, beautiful, and attractive things we witness in life. Thinking lovely thoughts requires great awareness, because lovely things are only thought of if they are noticed. Take time to notice and think on the lovely things.
Admirable thoughts are thoughts that would make God proud of you. Would your wise and loving heavenly Father approve of what you are thinking about yourself right now? How about what you are thinking about the people around you? Any thoughts that would horrify Him only stunt personal development because He knows what will help you succeed and what can destroy you.
Connecting with Jesus Fuels Growth
Jesus taught us that we will be fruitful if we remain connected with Him. In John 15:5, He said, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The “much fruit” Jesus talked about is the holy grail of personal development. It’s the greatest reward for developing time management skills, character, profits, or influence. This fruit is a real and deep relationship with Jesus that influences others to want a divine relationship like that too. All the riches and accolades or personal success you could achieve cannot compare to the benefits of having a relationship with God Himself.
Connecting with Jesus Requires Quality Time
Self improvement doesn’t get us an amazing relationship with Jesus any more than it does with a loved although it helps a lot. Relationships require time and experiences together. To spend quality time with Jesus, spend time in prayer and meditation on His words no matter how busy your life is.
Prayer at its simplest is talking with Jesus. Don’t over-complicate or embellish it. Here’s a simple prayer pattern you can use to get started:
Thank Him for the good things He’s given to you. Praise Him for the situations that He’s made possible.
Ask Him for the things that you need. He loves hearing about your fears, desires, and needs.
End your prayer time in silence waiting to hear what Jesus may say to you.
Once you get used to praying during set times each day (whatever time works best for you, just make it consistent), begin to practice praying to Him throughout the day. This constant connection with Jesus will empower you to grow in ways you simply can’t without His divine help.
Conclusion
Jesus’ teachings provide a spiritual pathway for personal growth and development through an intimate connection with Himself. If you follow Jesus’ principles, you will get resilience and comfort in troubles, love that energizes learning and growth, help to focus on things that bring you good, and the greatest reward of personal development–a deep relationship with Him.
A blog post can’t cover the breadth of Jesus’ teachings. I encourage you to look more into Jesus’ spiritual path toward personal development by reading the Bible. Read the Gospel of Mark or Luke. They are short accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
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