Walking with Jesus: Faithfulness, Not Success

“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
— Matthew 3:3

John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus with one clear mission — to prepare the way for the King. The Son of God was about to step into a broken world, moving through the wild, rebellious territory of human hearts to proclaim a message of repentance and freedom. But before Jesus ever spoke a word, God sent John to break up the hard soil — to cut a path through hearts that had grown calloused and cold.

John’s job wasn’t to complete the work — it was simply to begin it.

And maybe that’s something we all need to remember.

So often, God’s work in the human heart takes time — layer after layer, truth after truth, moment after moment. Sometimes it takes years, even decades, for the light of truth to finally pierce through the darkness of deception or pride. John’s calling was just a step in the process — a process that began long before he arrived, and that would continue long after.

And that same process is still happening in us today.

The Bible calls this lifelong journey sanctification — the ongoing work of God transforming our minds, our wills, and our emotions to look more like Jesus. It’s slow, often uncomfortable, and rarely neat.

When we trusted Jesus as Lord and King over our lives, God instantly made our spirit righteous — forgiven, cleansed, and made holy before Him. That part is settled. But the process of becoming like Him — that refining work — takes a lifetime.

And if you’re anything like me, you know how discouraging it can be when you keep tripping over the same sins, the same weaknesses, the same fears. Sometimes we focus so much on our failures that we forget what God is actually asking for.

Here’s the truth: spiritual maturity isn’t the goal — faithfulness is.

God’s aim isn’t that you “get it all right.” His desire is that you stay in the process — that you keep showing up, keep surrendering, keep trusting Him as He shapes you into the likeness of His Son. That process will humble you. It will break you. But it will also make you whole.

Even John the Baptist — the man who baptized Jesus — wrestled with doubt. Sitting in a prison cell, he sent word to Jesus asking, “Are You really the Christ?” (Matthew 11:3) Imagine that — after all his bold preaching and faith, he still questioned. But Jesus didn’t rebuke him. He encouraged him. And then He turned to the crowd and praised John’s faithfulness.

And the disciples? After three years of walking with Jesus, listening to His teaching, watching His miracles — they still didn’t get it. On the night before His death, Jesus told them that they would all abandon Him. He named their failure before it even happened! But instead of scolding them, or even charging them to be strong, He said something breathtaking:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.”
— John 14:1

Jesus knew their weakness. He knew they were about to fail — and He still told them not to lose heart.

He wasn’t excusing their sin. He was reminding them that God’s work doesn’t stop when we stumble. It’s all part of the process of becoming more like Christ. Our part is to keep believing — to keep trusting — even when we’ve fallen flat.

So, the next time you feel frustrated with your spiritual growth — when the journey feels slow, messy, or discouraging — remember what Jesus said:

“Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in Me.”

He knows your weakness. He knows your story. He knows your future failures and successes. And He’s not asking you for perfection.
He’s asking you for faithfulness.

Because in the end, that’s what walking with Jesus is really about — faithfulness, not success.

Just a Follower of Jesus,

Alan W. Harris

#FaithfulnessNotSuccess #WalkingWithJesus #SpiritualGrowth #KeepBelieving