Have you ever felt like you’re constantly climbing but never arriving? Like your spiritual life is an endless uphill battle where the summit keeps moving just beyond reach?
You’re not alone.
I remember sitting in my car after another exhausting church service, wondering why faith felt more like pressure than peace. I’d done everything “right” – attended every prayer meeting, volunteered in multiple ministries, read my Bible daily – yet something profound was missing.
Then it happened. A truth so simple yet so revolutionary that it changed everything in just three minutes.
The Exhausting Climb We Were Never Meant to Take
Most believers are unknowingly trapped in what I call the “performance paradox”:
- The harder you strive for God’s approval, the less you feel it
- The more you try to earn His love, the more distant it seems
- The more you work to be “enough,” the more depleted you become
Sound familiar?
This paradox isn’t just frustrating – it’s the exact opposite of the freedom Christ promised. Yet millions of Christians wake up every day, lace up their spiritual boots, and continue climbing a mountain they were never meant to climb.
The 3-Minute Revelation That Changes Everything
The breakthrough came when I realized a single, life-altering truth:
You don’t climb toward God’s approval – you live from it.
This isn’t just a theological nicety. It’s the difference between exhaustion and energy, between striving and thriving, between religion and relationship.
In THE CALL, the main character Bob experiences this exact revelation. After years of climbing an endless mountain, desperately trying to prove his worth, he discovers that he had been chasing what was already freely given.
The paradigm shift happens in this powerful moment:
“Bob’s heart stopped. The words hung in the air like a thunderclap. Peak Sozo? The greatest climb in human history, the peak that millions had spent their entire lives trying to reach… And he was already standing on it? ‘No,’ Bob whispered. ‘That’s not possible. I didn’t earn this. I didn’t finish the climb.’ Kinsman simply watched him. ‘You’re right. You didn’t.’ ‘Then how—’ Kinsman stepped closer, his voice gentle but firm. ‘Because you were never meant to.'”
Three Signs You’re Climbing Instead of Living
How do you know if you’re caught in the endless climb? Look for these warning signs:
- Spiritual fatigue: Faith feels more like work than wonder
- Approval addiction: Your worth fluctuates based on your performance
- Constant comparison: You measure your spiritual “progress” against others
Each of these indicates you’re operating from a fundamental misunderstanding about how God’s Kingdom works.
From Climbing to Thriving: The Practical Shift
This 3-minute revelation isn’t just beautiful theology – it transforms how you live your faith daily. Here’s what changes:
Prayer shifts from obligation to conversation. Instead of reciting formulas to earn God’s ear, you speak confidently as a beloved child.
Bible reading transforms from duty to discovery. You’re not mining for rules but uncovering the heart of Someone who already loves you completely.
Service flows from fullness, not emptiness. You give not to earn approval but because you’re already approved and overflow with gratitude.
One reader described it this way: “After reading THE CALL, I realized I’d spent 20 years trying to become something I already was. The freedom I’ve found is indescribable.”
The Key Question That Changes Everything
Here’s a 3-minute exercise that can transform your entire approach to faith:
Ask yourself honestly: “If I truly believed I was already fully loved, fully accepted, and fully equipped by God right now – how would I live differently today?”
Let that question sink deep. Your answer reveals the gap between what you intellectually believe and what you’re functionally living.
Breaking Free From the False Map
In THE CALL, Bob discovers he’s been following a “false map” – a set of directions that never lead to the destination they promise. Many believers are doing the same, following religious systems that claim to lead to God but actually lead to exhaustion.
The truth? You don’t need a map to find what’s already inside you.
Christ in you isn’t a distant goal to pursue – it’s a present reality to awaken to. This realization doesn’t diminish your spiritual journey; it transforms it from desperate climbing to joyful exploration.
The Path Forward
If this resonates with you, here are three immediate steps:
- Release the pressure of performance-based spirituality
- Reconnect daily with the truth of your complete acceptance in Christ
- Realign your practices to flow from identity, not for identity
This shift doesn’t happen overnight. Old patterns of striving are deeply ingrained. But every time you catch yourself climbing, you have a fresh opportunity to remember you’ve already arrived.
Your life wasn’t meant to be an endless uphill battle. It was designed to be an unfolding adventure of living from the fullness already placed within you.
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/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.