Are you exhausted from climbing the spiritual mountain? Discover five powerful exercises that shift you from striving to thriving in your relationship with God.
I remember the moment clearly.
We had just returned from the Philippines where we had been living. We were sent out by a well-known ministry and missionary training school. While there as pastors, we witnessed many miracles and saw beautiful fruit from our time serving.
Little did we know, the enemy had an agenda to stop the move of God. The previous pastor began to write negative letters to the ministry that had sent us. This was crushing for me because it created unexpected confrontation from those who had commissioned us. We ended up returning to the U.S. sooner than expected.
My response was not a good one, and it cost me four years of anger and distrust—four years of questioning why others would take the words of a stranger over ours. Later, I came to understand that I had wrongly built my identity in a ministry and in the person who had sent us. The painful truth is that our identity can be built and placed in anything—your position in life, what you own, your achievements, or even the ministries you serve.
And that’s when I realized I had been climbing the wrong mountain all along.
Maybe you can relate.
Perhaps you’re doing all the “right things” but feeling spiritually dry. Maybe you’re new to faith and already overwhelmed by expectations. Or perhaps disappointment has left you questioning everything you once believed.
This is exactly why I wrote The Call—to help believers discover the freedom that comes when we stop climbing for God’s approval and start living from His acceptance.
Let me share five transformative exercises from The Call and its companion workbook that have helped thousands break free from religious performance and discover authentic faith.
1. The Identity Declaration: Breaking Agreement With Religious Striving
The Problem: Many of us unconsciously believe God’s love depends on our spiritual performance. This lie keeps us trapped in exhausting religious striving.
The Exercise:
Each morning for seven days, stand in front of a mirror and declare these three statements aloud:
- “I am already complete in Christ.” (Colossians 2:10)
- “I live from God’s acceptance, not for it.” (Ephesians 1:6)
- “I am loved by God apart from my performance.” (Romans 5:8)
Why It Works:
This exercise directly confronts the performance lie with truth. By speaking these declarations aloud, you’re rewiring neural pathways that have been shaped by religious conditioning.
As Sarah, a mother of three who felt invisible to God despite years of faithful service, shared: “After just a week of these declarations, I found myself catching the old thoughts of ‘not enough’ and replacing them with the truth. The weight I’d been carrying began to lift.”
2. The Release Ritual: Letting Go of False Maps
The Problem: We’ve all been handed “maps” that promise to lead us to fulfillment—achievement, approval, religious performance—but they’ve left us exhausted and empty.
The Exercise:
- On a piece of paper, write down the “maps” you’ve been following (e.g., “If I serve more, God will answer my prayers” or “If I have perfect quiet times, I’ll feel God’s presence”).
- Read each one aloud, then say: “This map has not led me home.”
- Tear the paper into pieces.
- Write this truth on a new sheet: “Christ in me is my hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
- Place this somewhere you’ll see it daily.
Why It Works:
Physical rituals create powerful emotional anchors. This exercise provides closure with false beliefs while establishing a new foundation.
Marcus, a former worship leader who experienced a faith crisis after losing his job and health, found this exercise particularly powerful: “Tearing up those papers felt like breaking chains. I realized how many false promises I’d built my faith on.”
3. The Inside-Out Practice: Living From Fullness
The Problem: We’ve been taught to seek fulfillment externally—through achievements, relationships, or religious activities—rather than from the fullness already within us.
The Exercise:
For this seven-day practice:
- Set a timer three times daily (morning, noon, and evening).
- When it sounds, pause whatever you’re doing.
- Place your hand over your heart and take three deep breaths.
- Silently or aloud say: “The Kingdom of God is within me. I have everything I need for life and godliness.” (Luke 17:21, 2 Peter 1:3)
- Continue your day from this place of inner abundance.
Why It Works:
This simple practice interrupts the external searching pattern and redirects attention to the inner reality of Christ’s presence. It builds a new habit of living from fullness rather than striving from emptiness.
Tasha, who felt overwhelmed as a new believer trying to “catch up” to more experienced Christians, shared: “This practice changed everything. Instead of feeling behind, I began to sense God’s presence already with me, regardless of how much I knew or did.”
4. The True Summit Visualization: Recognizing You’re Already at the Top
The Problem: We believe we need to climb higher, do more, and be better to reach spiritual “success.” This endless climb exhausts us and distorts our view of God.
The Exercise:
Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Then:
- Close your eyes and visualize yourself climbing a steep mountain, struggling with each step.
- As you climb, notice the weight of expectations, comparison, and religious performance on your back.
- Now visualize Jesus standing before you, stopping your climb with gentle hands on your shoulders.
- Hear Him say: “The climbing is over. You’re already at the summit with Me.”
- Visualize yourself looking around to discover you’ve been at the top all along.
- Feel the weights fall away as you rest in this truth.
Why It Works:
Visualization creates new mental pathways that bypass intellectual resistance. This exercise helps you experience the truth that in Christ, you’re already complete—no more climbing needed.
“I wept the first time I did this exercise,” shared one pastor’s wife. “I realized I’d spent decades climbing toward a God who was already holding me.”
5. The Upside-Down Prayer: From Asking to Receiving
The Problem: Our prayers often reflect a climbing mentality—we’re always asking God for more, rather than recognizing what we already have in Christ.
The Exercise:
Transform your prayer life with this approach for one week:
- Begin each prayer with: “Thank You that I already have…”
- Instead of asking for peace, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your peace that surpasses understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)
- Instead of asking for strength, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your power working in me.” (Ephesians 3:20)
- Continue this pattern for each need or desire.
Why It Works:
This exercise shifts your perspective from scarcity to abundance, from future hope to present reality. It aligns your prayers with the truth that God has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
As one reader put it: “I’d been praying desperate prayers for years. This practice showed me I was like someone dying of thirst while sitting next to a flowing river. Everything changed when I started receiving what was already mine.”
Beyond Religious Performance
These five exercises are just the beginning of the transformation journey outlined in The Call and its companion workbook. They’re designed to help you:
- Break free from religious performance and striving
- Experience God’s presence without spiritual gymnastics
- Live from divine fullness rather than human emptiness
- Find authentic faith beyond religious systems
- Discover the freedom of your true identity in Christ
The journey isn’t always easy. Letting go of familiar climbing patterns takes time. You may occasionally find yourself reaching for old maps out of habit. But each time you practice these exercises, you strengthen new neural pathways that align with truth.
This is not about doing more or being better. It’s about waking up to what’s already true about you because of Jesus.
As I wrote in The Call: “The climb was never the point. Your transformation? That changes everything.”
Despite all my spiritual activity, I felt disconnected from God. The harder I climbed, the further away He seemed. My faith had become an exhausting performance, and I was burning out fast.
Maybe you can relate.
Perhaps you’re doing all the “right things” but feeling spiritually dry. Maybe you’re new to faith and already overwhelmed by expectations. Or perhaps disappointment has left you questioning everything you once believed.
This is exactly why I wrote The Call—to help believers discover the freedom that comes when we stop climbing for God’s approval and start living from His acceptance.
Let me share five transformative exercises from The Call and its companion workbook that have helped thousands break free from religious performance and discover authentic faith.
1. The Identity Declaration: Breaking Agreement With Religious Striving
The Problem: Many of us unconsciously believe God’s love depends on our spiritual performance. This lie keeps us trapped in exhausting religious striving.
The Exercise:
Each morning for seven days, stand in front of a mirror and declare these three statements aloud:
- “I am already complete in Christ.” (Colossians 2:10)
- “I live from God’s acceptance, not for it.” (Ephesians 1:6)
- “I am loved by God apart from my performance.” (Romans 5:8)
Why It Works:
This exercise directly confronts the performance lie with truth. By speaking these declarations aloud, you’re rewiring neural pathways that have been shaped by religious conditioning.
As Sarah, a mother of three who felt invisible to God despite years of faithful service, shared: “After just a week of these declarations, I found myself catching the old thoughts of ‘not enough’ and replacing them with the truth. The weight I’d been carrying began to lift.”
2. The Release Ritual: Letting Go of False Maps
The Problem: We’ve all been handed “maps” that promise to lead us to fulfillment—achievement, approval, religious performance—but they’ve left us exhausted and empty.
The Exercise:
- On a piece of paper, write down the “maps” you’ve been following (e.g., “If I serve more, God will answer my prayers” or “If I have perfect quiet times, I’ll feel God’s presence”).
- Read each one aloud, then say: “This map has not led me home.”
- Tear the paper into pieces.
- Write this truth on a new sheet: “Christ in me is my hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
- Place this somewhere you’ll see it daily.
Why It Works:
Physical rituals create powerful emotional anchors. This exercise provides closure with false beliefs while establishing a new foundation.
Marcus, a former worship leader who experienced a faith crisis after losing his job and health, found this exercise particularly powerful: “Tearing up those papers felt like breaking chains. I realized how many false promises I’d built my faith on.”
3. The Inside-Out Practice: Living From Fullness
The Problem: We’ve been taught to seek fulfillment externally—through achievements, relationships, or religious activities—rather than from the fullness already within us.
The Exercise:
For this seven-day practice:
- Set a timer three times daily (morning, noon, and evening).
- When it sounds, pause whatever you’re doing.
- Place your hand over your heart and take three deep breaths.
- Silently or aloud say: “The Kingdom of God is within me. I have everything I need for life and godliness.” (Luke 17:21, 2 Peter 1:3)
- Continue your day from this place of inner abundance.
Why It Works:
This simple practice interrupts the external searching pattern and redirects attention to the inner reality of Christ’s presence. It builds a new habit of living from fullness rather than striving from emptiness.
Tasha, who felt overwhelmed as a new believer trying to “catch up” to more experienced Christians, shared: “This practice changed everything. Instead of feeling behind, I began to sense God’s presence already with me, regardless of how much I knew or did.”
4. The True Summit Visualization: Recognizing You’re Already at the Top
The Problem: We believe we need to climb higher, do more, and be better to reach spiritual “success.” This endless climb exhausts us and distorts our view of God.
The Exercise:
Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Then:
- Close your eyes and visualize yourself climbing a steep mountain, struggling with each step.
- As you climb, notice the weight of expectations, comparison, and religious performance on your back.
- Now visualize Jesus standing before you, stopping your climb with gentle hands on your shoulders.
- Hear Him say: “The climbing is over. You’re already at the summit with Me.”
- Visualize yourself looking around to discover you’ve been at the top all along.
- Feel the weights fall away as you rest in this truth.
Why It Works:
Visualization creates new mental pathways that bypass intellectual resistance. This exercise helps you experience the truth that in Christ, you’re already complete—no more climbing needed.
“I wept the first time I did this exercise,” shared one pastor’s wife. “I realized I’d spent decades climbing toward a God who was already holding me.”
5. The Upside-Down Prayer: From Asking to Receiving
The Problem: Our prayers often reflect a climbing mentality—we’re always asking God for more, rather than recognizing what we already have in Christ.
The Exercise:
Transform your prayer life with this approach for one week:
- Begin each prayer with: “Thank You that I already have…”
- Instead of asking for peace, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your peace that surpasses understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)
- Instead of asking for strength, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your power working in me.” (Ephesians 3:20)
- Continue this pattern for each need or desire.
Why It Works:
This exercise shifts your perspective from scarcity to abundance, from future hope to present reality. It aligns your prayers with the truth that God has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
As one reader put it: “I’d been praying desperate prayers for years. This practice showed me I was like someone dying of thirst while sitting next to a flowing river. Everything changed when I started receiving what was already mine.”
Beyond Religious Performance
These five exercises are just the beginning of the transformation journey outlined in The Call and its companion workbook. They’re designed to help you:
- Break free from religious performance and striving
- Experience God’s presence without spiritual gymnastics
- Live from divine fullness rather than human emptiness
- Find authentic faith beyond religious systems
- Discover the freedom of your true identity in Christ
The journey isn’t always easy. Letting go of familiar climbing patterns takes time. You may occasionally find yourself reaching for old maps out of habit. But each time you practice these exercises, you strengthen new neural pathways that align with truth.
This is not about doing more or being better. It’s about waking up to what’s already true about you because of Jesus.
“The climb was never the point. Your transformation? That changes everything.”
Want to go deeper in your journey from performance to grace? THE CALL and its companion workbook are your next steps. Click here: www.graceempoweredliving.com/call
About the Author:
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.
Posted on: : CategoriesArticle, Faith & Mental Health Tags: Faith & Mental Health