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“For the things we have to learn before we can do them,
we learn by doing them.”

— Aristotle

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Practice, Not Perfection: How God Forms Us Through the Process

There’s a good chance you have a complicated relationship with the word “practice.”

Maybe practice is good and fine in the sports world, but in real life, we feel this pressure to project we’ve arrived, that we’re the kind of person who’s very adequate, maybe even almost perfect, in our jobs, our homes, our relationships. 

But the goal of life with God isn’t perfection in the way we often imagine it. It’s not about collecting enough knowledge, completing the forms, or checking the spiritual boxes so we can feel complete.

Why Spiritual Maturity Is Different Than Spiritual Perfection

There’s a Greek word in the New Testament teleios often translated “perfect,” but the word carries more meaning. It bears the marks of maturity, wholeness, and a completeness that comes only through a process . . . through practice. It captures the necessary journey of becoming, of participating in the process.

God doesn’t need us to get better at pretending we’ve arrived; He wants us to stay engaged in the process of becoming what He already speaks over us. To trust that He is faithfully forming something eternal in us.

You don’t have to panic when you feel unfinished. You can trust that becoming whole takes time.

Jesus touches on this in Matthew 7 when He describes the wise man and the foolish man. What separated them wasn’t perfection—it was practice. The wise man “hears these words of mine and puts them into practice.”

The Practice of Becoming: Participating in God’s Work in You

The wise person keeps returning. Keeps building. Keeps responding. Because formation happens through participation, not perfect knowledge.

Respond

This week, resist the urge to simply measure yourself by what you can perceive and perform. Instead, ask: Am I staying present to the process? Am I staying in the game, if you will? Am I remaining open to the Spirit’s formation?

You may feel unfinished, but unfinished does not mean wrong or abandoned. God’s not upset that He’s still at work in your life. Be patient with yourself, for God is patiently making you whole.

Closing Prayer

Father,
Thank You that You are patient with me in the process of becoming.
Forgive me for the ways I’ve confused perfection with maturity
or performance with transformation.
Teach me to participate with You daily—
to practice Your way with humility and trust.
Give me courage to remain in the process,
even when growth feels slow or incomplete.
Form in me a deeper wholeness,
a life rooted in Your wisdom and presence.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Praying with you,

Addison

P.S. To you fathers out there, happy Father’s Day. May our lives be signposts to the Father’s faithfulness, strength, and love.

P.P.S. If you’d like to continue practicing what this week stirred in you, join me for Seven Days of Presence. Each day I will share a short devotion, practice, and prayer to help you cultivate a clearer sense of purpose and connection with God.