Ever noticed how some Christians seem naturally connected to God, while others exhaust themselves trying to earn what was already given?
You’ve likely experienced it yourself—the frustration of spiritual effort that yields minimal growth. Despite consistent devotion, Bible study, and sincere prayer, something still feels missing. The mountaintop experiences you crave remain elusive, leaving you wondering what secret you’re missing.
The answer isn’t another spiritual discipline or technique. It’s not about doing more—it’s about seeing differently.
In Scott Johnson’s transformative novel THE CALL, protagonist Bob Cooper discovers this truth when he wakes up on a mysterious mountain. His journey reveals that transformation doesn’t come through incremental improvements to our current approach. It comes through fundamental shifts in how we understand our relationship with God.
Let’s explore three shifts that can transform your faith journey—not through years of gradual change, but through immediate perspective transformation.
Shift #1: From Climbing to Resting
Most Christians approach spiritual growth like a mountain to climb—something achieved through persistent effort, discipline, and performance. The assumption is that if we work hard enough, eventually we’ll reach spiritual maturity and experience God’s presence more fully.
But what if we’ve got it backward?
In THE CALL, Bob makes a stunning discovery: “You were not climbing toward supply—you were living from supply.” Paul the apostle confirms in scripture, he teaches us that we are already complete in Christ, even if we don’t feel it.
This reveals the first transformative shift: moving from spiritual climbing to spiritual resting.
The Problem with Climbing
Performance-based spirituality creates several problems:
- Exhaustion: Always striving but never arriving
- Insecurity: Never knowing if you’ve done enough
- Measurement: Constantly comparing your climb to others
- Conditional peace: Experiencing God’s presence only when performing well
As Bob discovers in THE CALL, “The more desperately someone tries to reach God through effort, the more distant He often feels.”
The Power of Resting
Resting in your relationship with God means:
- Starting from acceptance rather than working toward it
- Operating from completion rather than striving for it
- Living from God’s resources rather than your own
Biblical Foundation: “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:10). The invitation isn’t to climb harder but to rest more deeply.
Key Takeaway: Spiritual growth isn’t about climbing to reach God—it’s about resting in who He already says you are.
Shift #2: From Outside-In to Inside-Out Living
Many believers live “from the outside in”—allowing circumstances, achievements, and others’ approval to determine their spiritual condition and even their definition of themselves.
When life goes well, God feels close. When problems arise, God seems distant. This creates a spirituality dictated by external factors rather than internal reality.
In THE CALL, Bob encounters a profound truth: “God doesn’t play hide-and-seek… We now live and move in Him. This is God’s original intention for man.“
This reveals the second transformative shift: moving from outside-in to inside-out spirituality.
The Trap of Outside-In Living
Outside-in spirituality means:
- External circumstances control your spiritual experience
- God’s presence feels conditional and unpredictable
- Spiritual stability remains elusive regardless of effort
- Faith becomes reactive rather than proactive
As portrayed in THE CALL, this approach leaves us “trapped in a system of performance and scarcity.”
The Freedom of Inside-Out Living
Inside-out spirituality means:
- Living from an internal reality that doesn’t change with circumstances
- Experiencing God’s presence regardless of external conditions
- Responding to life from a place of unshakable identity
- Bringing God’s reality to situations rather than letting situations define God’s reality
Biblical Foundation: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). God’s presence isn’t something we chase; it’s someone who dwells within us.
Key Takeaway: Stop allowing circumstances to dictate your spiritual reality. Begin living from the unshakable truth of who you are in Christ.
Shift #3: From Knowledge to Identity
Information about God is not the same as transformation by God. Yet many Christians confuse biblical knowledge with spiritual maturity.
We can quote scripture, explain complex theology, and attend countless Bible studies—yet still feel spiritually hollow because we’ve mistaken information for transformation.
In THE CALL, Bob confronts this reality when he learns: “Faith is not about striving to become something. It’s awakening to who you already are in Christ—and letting your actions overflow from that truth.“
This reveals the third transformative shift: moving from knowledge accumulation to identity awakening.
The Limitation of Knowledge Without Identity
Knowledge-based spirituality means:
- Accumulating biblical information without personal transformation
- Knowing who God is without experiencing who you are in Him
- Understanding doctrines without embodying truth
- Intellectualizing what should be internalized
As Bob discovers in THE CALL, this approach leaves us “knowing all the right answers but still living all the wrong questions.”
The Power of Identity-Based Spirituality
Identity-based spirituality means:
- Living from who God says you are, not just what God says you should do
- Allowing truth to transform your self-perception, not just your behavior
- Making decisions based on your nature in Christ, not just biblical rules
- Seeing yourself as God sees you—complete, loved, and empowered
Biblical Foundation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Transformation comes through identity renewal, not just information acquisition.
Key Takeaway: Shift your focus from knowing more to becoming who you already are in Christ.
The Integration: When All Three Shifts Work Together
These shifts aren’t isolated techniques—they’re interconnected aspects of a single transformation. When integrated, they create a complete paradigm change:
- Resting provides the foundation of security
- Inside-out living provides the source of stability
- Identity awakening provides the fuel for transformation
Together, they create what THE CALL describes as “living from the inside out”—a spirituality characterized by peace, purpose, and power that doesn’t depend on perfect performance or favorable circumstances.
As one reader of THE CALL shared: “It wasn’t just another spiritual growth concept—it was like someone finally handed me the right map after years of climbing in circles.”
Practical Next Steps
How do you begin implementing these shifts in your daily life? Here are simple practices to start today:
For Shift #1 (From Climbing to Resting):
- Begin each day by declaring “I am already accepted in Christ” before doing any spiritual activity
- Replace “I should” statements with “I am” declarations
- When anxiety rises, ask: “Am I trying to earn what’s already mine?”
For Shift #2 (From Outside-In to Inside-Out):
- When circumstances change, practice saying: “My situation has changed, but my standing with God hasn’t”
- Identify one area where external factors dictate your spiritual experience
- Practice bringing God’s presence to situations rather than seeking it in situations
For Shift #3 (From Knowledge to Identity):
- For every scripture you read, ask: “What does this reveal about who I am in Christ?”
- Replace “trying harder” with “seeing clearer”—focusing on identity awareness
- Begin decisions with “Since I am [identity truth], I will now [action]”
Your Transformation Starts Now
The beauty of these shifts is that they don’t require years of gradual improvement. They happen in an instant—the moment you see differently, you become different. The definition of true repentance is to change our minds. In this case, changing our mind about God’s view and opinion of us and what has been provided.
As Johnson writes in THE CALL: “It wasn’t that Bob had suddenly become something new. He had finally awakened to who he had been all along.”
These shifts won’t automatically change your circumstances, but they will transform how you experience them. They won’t instantly perfect your behavior, but they will revolutionize what motivates it.
Most importantly, they will free you from the exhausting climb of performance-based spirituality into the liberating rest of identity-based relationship with God.
THE CALL illustrates this journey through Bob’s powerful story—moving from striving to sonship, from climbing to companionship, from exhaustion to exhilaration.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL is your next step in breaking free from performance-based spirituality and discovering the relationship God always intended. More than just questions, it’s a guided journey from exhausting religious effort to liberating grace. Click here www.graceempoweredliving.com/call to begin your transformation.
Written by, Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books, who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.