Ever found yourself spiritually exhausted? Doing all the “right” Christian things—church attendance, Bible reading, prayer time, volunteering—yet feeling more depleted than fulfilled? Like you’re running on a treadmill that never stops, desperately trying to earn God’s approval?
You’re not alone in this exhaustion. And there’s a way off the treadmill.
The Hidden Burden We All Carry
Bob Cooper thought he was living the Christian life correctly. He checked all the boxes: regular church attendance, tithing, occasional volunteering, avoiding the “big sins.” From the outside, his spiritual life looked exemplary.
Yet deep inside, a question nagged at him: Am I doing enough?
This question is the telltale sign of performance-based spirituality—a burden so many believers carry without realizing it’s not what God intended.
“Because as he is present tense, so are we in this world,” Eli told Bob. The words hit different now. It wasn’t about becoming like Jesus through effort; it was about accepting that in Christ, we already are.
The Treadmill of Religious Performance
The performance treadmill operates on a simple premise: God’s approval must be earned through spiritual activities and moral behavior.
It creates a predictable cycle:
- Spiritual high – You commit to new disciplines, feel closer to God
- Inevitable failure – You miss a day, fall short of your standards
- Shame spiral – You feel distant from God, unworthy of His presence
- Recommitment – You try harder, promise to do better, start over
- Repeat – The cycle continues, leaving you increasingly exhausted
“I had been on this mountain for a very, very long time,” Bob realized with sudden clarity. “I hadn’t just arrived here. I had been climbing all my life.”
This realization hit home. The mountain of religious performance isn’t something we occasionally visit—it’s the terrain many of us have been navigating our entire spiritual lives.
Three False Beliefs That Keep Us Climbing
Why do we stay on this exhausting treadmill? Three powerful falsehoods keep us locked in performance mode:
1. God’s Love is Conditional
The subtle belief that God’s affection for us rises and falls based on our spiritual performance. When we pray consistently, He’s pleased. When we struggle with sin, He’s disappointed.
The Truth: “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as he is, so are we in this world.” God’s love for you is fixed, unwavering, and unconditional.
2. Our Identity is What We Do
We begin to confuse who we are with what we do. I am a prayer warrior. I am a worship leader. I am a Bible study teacher.
The Truth: Your identity isn’t found in your spiritual accomplishments but in your position as a child of God. “You were never meant to earn what I have provided, just believe.” Your identity is received, not achieved.
3. Relationship with God is Primarily About Behavior
The belief that our relationship with God improves when our behavior improves, and suffers when our behavior falters.
The Truth: Relationship with God flows from grace, not performance. “He had spent his whole life identifying with the climb. But if he wasn’t striving anymore… then who was he?”
The Warning Signs of Performance-Based Faith
How do you know if you’re trapped in the performance paradigm? Look for these warning signs:
- You feel like God is disappointed in you most of the time
- You measure your spiritual growth by activities completed
- You compare your spiritual life to others
- You avoid genuine vulnerability about your struggles
- You feel anxious when you miss spiritual disciplines
- Your relationship with God lacks joy and feels like obligation
As Bob sat in the Valley of Religion, he observed the climbers around him—some had stopped, exhausted; some had fallen; others were still pushing forward, eyes locked on a summit they couldn’t even see. He recognized himself in their striving.
The Mountain No One Can Climb
“For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” – Hebrews 7:19
The Valley of Religion was filled with people who had convinced themselves they were making progress toward the summit. Each group had their doctrines, their systems, their certainties.
But when Bob asked a simple question—”Has anyone actually reached the peak?”—an uncomfortable silence fell.
“Many have come close,” someone finally said. But close isn’t summit.
The truth dawned on him: No one had made it. No one ever would. Because the mountain was never meant to be climbed through human effort.
The Radical Shift: From Performance to Relationship
“I’m saying we all are,” Eli corrected him. “We were raised on this. We were handed the map before we could even walk. And the deeper it’s ingrained, the harder it fights back when you start to question it.”
Moving from performance to relationship requires a paradigm shift so radical it feels like waking up from a dream:
Performance Paradigm:
- God’s approval must be earned
- Spiritual disciplines are obligations
- Failures create distance from God
- Worth is measured by what you do
- Relationship with God feels like work
Relationship Paradigm:
- God’s approval is already given
- Spiritual disciplines are invitations
- Failures are opportunities for grace
- Worth is established by who you are in Christ
- Relationship with God feels like rest
Bob swallowed hard. “What if life falls apart? What if you lose everything—your job, your family, your health?” Eli turned toward him fully. “Would you still be free?” Bob’s throat tightened. He didn’t answer. Because he didn’t know.
This is the real question, isn’t it? Is our relationship with God strong enough to survive when all our religious performances fail?
The Key to Freedom: Letting Go
“Bob… you’re already where you were meant to be. The question is…will you live as though it’s true?”
The key to freedom isn’t trying harder in a new direction—it’s letting go of the entire performance paradigm.
This letting go isn’t passive resignation; it’s active surrender. It’s the deliberate choice to:
- Release the burden of earning God’s approval
- Embrace your identity as already beloved
- Receive grace rather than achieve it
- Rest in relationship rather than strive in religion
When Bob finally understood this, “He let it fall. The wind carried it away. And for the first time in his life, Bob felt something he never had before. Freedom.”
Practical Steps to Break Free from Performance
Moving from performance to relationship isn’t accomplished overnight. Here are practical steps to begin the journey:
- Identify Your Performance Triggers
- What spiritual activities make you feel “better” or “worse” about your standing with God?
- When do you feel most distant from God?
- What religious behaviors do you engage in primarily out of fear or obligation?
- Replace Religious Should’s with Relational Want’s
- Instead of “I should read my Bible,” try “I get to connect with God through His Word”
- Rather than “I must pray daily,” shift to “I’m invited to converse with my Father”
- Move from “I need to go to church” to “I want to gather with my spiritual family”
- Practice Receiving Rather Than Achieving
- Begin each day acknowledging God’s delight in you—before you’ve done anything
- When you fail, run to God rather than away from Him
- Sit in silence occasionally, just being with God rather than doing for Him
- Let Grace Redefine Your Relationship
- Ask: “What would my relationship with God look like if I truly believed His grace was sufficient?”
- Notice when you slip into performance mode and gently return to grace
- Consider how you would treat someone you deeply love—then recognize God loves you even more perfectly
The Freedom That Awaits You
When you move from performance to relationship, everything changes:
- Prayer becomes conversation rather than obligation
- Scripture becomes nourishment rather than homework
- Worship becomes response rather than performance
- Service becomes overflow rather than duty
- Failure becomes opportunity rather than condemnation
Sarah exhaled slowly. “I had been chasing after something I already had. I had been climbing when I had already arrived.” Tears slipped down her face. Not from sadness. From relief.
This relief awaits you too. The exhaustion of earning God’s approval can end today—not because you’ve finally climbed high enough, but because you’ve realized the climb was never necessary.
“The moment you stop climbing for it, you start living from it,” Kinsman told Bob. This is the invitation before you right now.
Will you continue the exhausting climb? Or will you finally step off the treadmill and into the relationship you were created for?
“What if there’s more out there?” Bob wondered, the question echoing in the hollow chambers of his heart. “What if I’m meant for something greater, something beyond the confines of this predictable, mundane existence?”
That “something greater” isn’t found at the top of religious performance. It’s found in the arms of a Father who has already declared you beloved.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL workbook 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/thecall to begin your transformation.
Written by,
Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books and a grace-centered teacher who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. His latest novel, THE CALL, draws from over four decades of ministry experience—from serving as a missionary in the Philippines to pastoring churches in California and Colorado. Together with his wife Debra, Scott has dedicated his life to empowering others to move past obstacles, frustrations, and fears toward a stress-free, fulfilled life through God’s grace. A father of four and grandfather of five, Scott continues to touch lives using every available means to share the liberating message that we are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ. His passion is connecting people to their potential and purpose, helping them discover what it means to live effectively through grace rather than exhausting religious performance.