Founder’s Message: You’re Still Becoming

Real faith. Real life. A brighter tomorrow.

There are moments when I look at my own life and quietly wonder:

Shouldn’t I be further along by now?

Further along in my faith.

Further along in becoming the person God is calling me to be.

Further along in the things I’ve been praying about.

Maybe you’ve had those moments too.

You thought you would have overcome that struggle by now.

You thought you would be stronger.

More disciplined.

More confident.

Maybe you thought you would have a clearer idea of where God was leading you.

Yet here you are.

Still learning.

Still wrestling.

Still praying.

Still trying.

Still becoming.

And when progress feels slow, it’s easy to believe that nothing is happening.

But I’m learning something:

Slow progress is still progress.

And just because you cannot see everything God is doing doesn’t mean God has stopped working.

 

God Isn’t Finished With You

There’s a verse that fits beautifully with this season:

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

Philippians 1:6

Those words matter.

Began.

God started something.

Good work.

There is purpose in what God is doing.

In you.

This isn’t only about what is happening around you. God is shaping something within you.

And then comes the promise:

He will carry it on.

Your story isn't finished.

Neither is mine.

We're becoming.

The difficult part is that we often want transformation to happen quickly.

We want the breakthrough.

We want the answer.

We want to wake up tomorrow and discover that the struggle has disappeared and everything suddenly makes sense.

But I've found that some of the deepest things God does in our lives happen much more quietly.

Sometimes becoming looks incredibly ordinary.

 

Becoming Happens in Ordinary Places

It can look like opening your Bible when you don't particularly feel like it.

Choosing patience when it would be easier to react.

Praying again about something you've already prayed about a hundred times.

Forgiving.

Starting again.

Making the phone call.

Showing kindness when nobody will notice.

Trusting God when you still don't understand what God is doing.

None of those things seem particularly dramatic.

But perhaps that's the point.

We can spend so much time waiting for the big moment that we miss what God is doing through the small ones.

Because God isn't only interested in the person you'll become someday.

God is forming you in the life you're living today.

In your home.

At work.

Around the kitchen table.

On the school run.

During the difficult conversation.

Driving home after a long day.

In the few quiet minutes before everyone else wakes up.

Faith belongs there too.

That's why Believe Beyond Sunday has become so important to me.

It's not simply a tagline for Jazzy Faith House.

It's an invitation.

An invitation to take our faith beyond a church service and allow it to shape the ordinary places of everyday life.

Not perfectly.

Not pretending we have everything together.

Just choosing, day after day, to keep walking with Jesus.

 

When It Feels Like Nothing Is Changing

Maybe you're reading this during one of those weeks.

You're tired.

Something hasn't worked out.

You've fallen back into an old habit.

Your prayers feel distracted.

The answer you've been asking God for hasn't arrived.

Or perhaps you're looking at somebody else's life and wondering why they seem so much further ahead.

Please hear this:

Don't measure God's work in your life against somebody else's journey.

Your journey is your journey.

And sometimes growth is happening long before we recognise it.

The way you respond differently.

The things that don't control you like they used to.

The boundaries you're beginning to establish.

The prayers you're beginning to pray.

The compassion you're developing because of what you've been through.

The fact that you're still standing.

Sometimes we need to stop looking at how far we still have to go and recognise how far God has already brought us.

 

Unfinished Doesn't Mean Forgotten

I really want someone reading this to understand that.

Unfinished doesn't mean forgotten.

You can love Jesus and still have questions.

You can have faith and still experience difficult days.

You can be growing and still get things wrong.

You can trust God and still not understand what God is doing.

We are all works in progress.

The danger comes when we interpret the unfinished parts of our story as evidence that God has abandoned the work.

Philippians reminds us of the opposite.

God began the work.

God continues the work.

So perhaps the question this week isn't:

“Why am I not there yet?”

Perhaps a better question is:

“God, what is my next faithful step?”

 

This Week's Becoming Challenge

I'm deliberately keeping this challenge simple.

I don't want to give you another huge checklist.

I don't want this to become another thing you feel guilty about not completing.

Instead:

Choose one area where you know God has been asking you to grow.

One area.

Not ten.

Maybe it's your prayer life.

Maybe it's forgiveness.

Maybe it's patience.

Maybe you've been putting something off because you're afraid.

Maybe you need to rest.

Maybe you need to reconnect with God.

Maybe you need to encourage somebody.

Maybe you simply need to trust God with something you've been desperately trying to control.

Whatever it is, name it.

Write it down if that helps.

Then ask:

“What is one small faithful step I can take today?”

And take it.

Tomorrow, do it again.

 

Your 7-Day Becoming Challenge

For the next seven days:

Day 1: Name the area where you want to grow.

Day 2: Pray honestly about it.

Day 3: Take one practical step.

Day 4: Notice what God might already be teaching you.

Day 5: Encourage someone else who may be on a similar journey.

Day 6: Look back and recognise progress, however small.

Day 7: Pause, pray and thank God for the journey so far.

This isn't about achieving seven perfect days.

If you miss a day, don't quit.

Start again.

Grace gives us room to keep becoming.

 

Take a Minute

Before you leave this page, stop for a moment.

Put the phone down if you can.

Take a breath.

And ask yourself:

Where might God be working in me right now?

Then:

What is my next faithful step?

Don't worry about the next hundred steps.

Just the next one.

 

A Prayer for the Week

Father,

Thank You that You haven't given up on me.

Thank You that even when I cannot see progress, You are still working.

When I become frustrated with myself, remind me that becoming takes time.

Help me stop comparing my journey with somebody else's.

Give me wisdom to recognise what You are teaching me in the ordinary moments of my life.

Show me the next faithful step.

Give me courage to take it.

And when I stumble, remind me that Your grace allows me to get back up and keep walking.

Keep shaping my heart.

Keep growing my faith.

Keep teaching me to trust You.

Help me live a faith that doesn't end when Sunday finishes, but follows me into Monday morning and every ordinary moment that comes afterwards.

I don't know exactly where this journey will take me.

But I trust the One who started it.

I'm still becoming.

Amen.

 

You’re Still Becoming

Maybe that's the message you need to carry with you this week.

You don't need to have everything figured out.

You don't need to become somebody else overnight.

And you don't need to pretend you're further along than you actually are.

Just keep showing up.

Keep praying.

Keep trusting.

Keep taking the next faithful step.

Because the story isn't finished.

God isn't finished with you yet.

And neither am I.

We're still becoming.

Together.

With love,

Philip

Founder, Jazzy Faith House

Believe Beyond Sunday.

 

This week's challenge:

One area. One small step. Every day.

What is your next faithful step?