GPBC Blog

Tom just wrapped up our series on sanctification, so let's look back at the four ways God shapes us into the likeness of Christ:

• What God has done
• What God allows
• What God is doing
• And what we are doing

God is always working. And he invites us to respond and participate. It’s in this last area, what we are doing, where a lot of us start to feel stuck.

Because if we’re being honest and you’ve followed Jesus for a while, most of us know what the Bible says. We know that God loves us. That we’re forgiven. That he’s with us. But there are still times when we just don’t feel it. We feel condemned. Or distant. Or like something is broken inside that hasn’t caught up to the truth.

That disconnect between what we know and what we feel can be feel paralyzing. It raises all sorts of questions. Why doesn’t this feel real? Why do I keep getting stuck in the same patterns? What’s wrong with me?

The truth is, nothing is wrong with you. That gap between head and heart is often the place where sanctification happens. The Spirit doesn’t just grow our knowledge or help us obey more. He leads us into something deeper. He brings the truth to life in our hearts, reshaping who we are, what we love, and where we place our trust.

But that transfer from knowing to truly believing is not always automatic. And sometimes, it gets blocked.
Part of our role in this process is to slow down long enough to ask some honest questions.

What’s in the way? What’s keeping this truth from becoming real in my life? Why do I believe it in my head but still struggle to live from it?

Sometimes the block is spiritual. Maybe there is unconfessed sin that is hardening your heart or unresolved shame that keeps you shying away from accepting forgiveness. Sometimes it’s emotional. Maybe there is a wound that hasn’t healed yet, a betrayal or trauma that made it hard to trust. Sometimes it’s physiological. Maybe you are walking through depression or anxiety, and no matter how much you pray or read, you still feel numb or overwhelmed.

These things do not disprove the healing power of the gospel. They are the places where the gospel needs to be applied.

The Word of God is alive. It has power. But if something in us is resisting or unable to receive it, the answer is not always to just try harder or read more. Sometimes the next step is to ask, what is going on under the surface? What part of me needs healing, not just more information?

If we ignore that kind of reflection and reduce growth to just willpower or head knowledge, we can end up only knowing the truth but not allowing it to change us. And that leaves us stuck in the very places God is trying to move us from.

But when we name the barriers and invite God into them, real change can happen. We begin to experience transformation from the inside out. We are not just learning the truth, we are becoming shaped by it.

That is the kind of discipleship we want to pursue. One that honors the complexity of the human heart and trusts the Spirit to do deep, patient, beautiful work over time.

So, if you are in a place where truth feels stuck, where what you know hasn’t quite made it to your heart yet, don’t beat yourself up. That does not mean you are failing. It means God is still working. And your part may be to ask:

What is blocking the transfer from my head to my heart?

Let’s name it, bring it into the light, and walk out the work of sanctification together.