Why Your Spiritual Growth Feels Like a Crisis
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"
— Isaiah 43:18-19
There is a peculiar anxiety that arrives exactly when things start going right. You make a definitive, conscious choice toward a better path, a choice to follow Christ, a decision to break a cycle, an entry into an entirely new personal pattern, and instead of immediate peace, your mind begins to sound an alarm.
Suddenly, an inner voice whispers, “Something is wrong.”
But what if I told you that this inner voice is just your flesh reaching for the familiarity and comfort of the place that you’re no longer in?
I’d go as far as to say that nothing is wrong.
You’re just finally on the right path in Christ.
To our flesh, that’s the most dangerous place you can be.
The Comfort Of Sin
There’s a certainty that comes with your sin, especially if you’ve been entangled in it for a while. In church, my Pastor has often taught us about neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
Essentially, when we sin, we reinforce these habits and behaviors in our mind, physically rewiring our brains so that what starts as a dirt road becomes an interstate.
Because we’ve forged these highways, it’s a path that comes easily to remember. It’s like in school, where you can tell the difference between the actual sidewalks and the unspoken paths by the worn-down grass.
What started as a rough path turned into a paved one, simply because people kept walking on it.
That’s why our sin comes so easily to us.
And that’s why scriptures encourage us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up” (Hebrews 12:1).
Those “Old Files”
Because our minds are so vast and handle so many things, they constantly create templates for our lives. They categorize people, places, patterns, and things, always trying to stay one step ahead of us.
Oh, you’re talking to this person? The internal file says you usually act like this.
Oh, it’s that time of day? That’s when you normally do that.
Your brain rushes ahead, pre-loading the usual urges and feelings.
But when you choose a new path, you disrupt the entire system.
When you decide to start fresh, cut that sin loose, or choose forgiveness and reconciliation, your brain panics and says, "Wait, this isn't how this is supposed to go."
When your new reality doesn't neatly fit your historical behaviors, the warning flags go up.
The Illusion of Safety in the Familiar
And this is where we must make the choice: Will I try to create the same file in this new space, or will I say, “Nope, no space for you here”?
This is the tragic psychology of Lot’s wife.
She didn't look back because she loved destruction; she looked back because the destruction was a space she already knew how to navigate.
And this is the danger in “certain” old sins and broken cycles; despite us knowing how it ends, we still choose to go down that worn-down path. It’s like opening a brand-new laptop and instinctively searching for an old bookmarked tab, a familiar file, or a shortcut that just isn’t there anymore.
When you stand in the unknown, it feels more dangerous simply because it is unpredictable. Ultimately, you have to decide whether you are going to let your old default lead you or if you are going to follow the new direction forward.
Proverbs 4:25-27 is clear on the choice that we should make:
25 Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.
So I say again, something isn’t wrong; you’re actually on the safe path.
You have a new default.
Your soul is anchored; now it’s time to align your mind and body with the Word of God as well.
If you listen to your flesh and let it lead you, it will certainly lead you to death (Romans 8:5-6), but if you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will be led to a new, holy standard and life in Christ.
Leaning into the “Uncomfortable New”
So where do we even begin? Well, we need to retrain our spiritual and emotional radar. When you feel a sense of discomfort and realize, "I do not recognize this pattern," your immediate reaction shouldn't be to run away. Your reaction should be to say: Good. **That is, if it’s a pattern that lines up with the Word of God.
If you never face any discomfort in your environment, you aren't growing. I’ve learned that this friction isn't a sign of failure; it's the feeling of that old skin stretching.
And as we see throughout the scripture, the uncomfortable path is often the most protected one.
Moving into the New Standard
The next time you step into a new area and the old alarms go off: pause, take a deep breath, look at the path under your feet, and see God calling you straight ahead.
Choose to follow Christ into the new dynamics awaiting you, and let him build a new standard within you that is stronger than any familiar default you left behind.
Up and onward.
