Seven Traits for Spiritual Success

There are certain traits everyone needs in order to succeed. In our spiritual lives we encounter obstacles, temptations, opposition and discouragement.

God helps us develop all these traits so we can grow and become everything God wants us to be.

The Seven

Tenacity. Tenacity is a scrappy and active pursuit of what Jesus is leading you into. It takes energy and ultimately gives energy. Is Jesus leading you to speak, write, engage in compassionate ministry or something else? Tenacity grabs hold of that and starts the work and doesn’t stop until it is done!

Endurance. This sounds like the previous characteristic but I think it’s a bit different. Endurance helps us to show up every single day. It keeps us going through the hard times. In following Jesus, especially, we need endurance. There will be great testing and trials in every day of life! We endure because we have an awesome hope!

Faith. Faith fuels our day. Believing in God or in the dreams he has given us keeps us moving. Faith means we believe all the promises and all the power that he gives. Faith means we have our sights set on something more powerful, more possible, more positive than anything we can actually see with our eyes.

Consistency. A great follower will consistently do the things that need to be done. When we follow Jesus, we read our Bibles, we pray, we worship — no matter how we feel. When we follow the dreams that God gives us — and he will give us dreams — we are consistently doing what needs to be done to make the dreams a reality.

Joy. When we follow, we find joy in the journey. There is something about releasing our inner motives to a higher purpose, giving up our agenda for Jesus’ agenda, that frees us from stress and worry. It is easier to find joy in following because we know that the one we follow is fully faithful and he will not fail!

Peace. Just like joy, peace is a by-product of being a follower of Jesus. He is ultimately responsible for the path we are on, so we have peace about every twist and turn. While there may be momentary times of worry or stress, those moments quickly pass as we realize that we are okay! Jesus leads, we follow, we live in peace!

Good habits. A follower cultivates a life of habits that strengthen their ability to follow. They have written or mental list of things they must do to continue to follow. Then, these things become a habit in their lives. We cannot have consistency, without having good habits to be consistent with! We learn these good habits from those on the journey with us.

How Do We Do All This?

Whenever we are confronted with a challenging list like this, we ask how.

It is simple but difficult.

1. Pray. Ask God to help you.
2. Remember. All that God has promised you and to do all these things each day.
3. Continue. Always do all you can to accomplish all these things daily.
4. Share. Let us know how you are doing! Share it on our Facebook page or in the comments below.

How do we do all this?

What do you need to do today to become a better follower? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment. Join our conversation on Facebook. You can find a lot more help in following Jesus right here!