This week I had an unexpected reminder that spiritual growth is often much quieter than we imagine.

During prayer, I found myself thinking about battles—temptation, discouragement, old habits, and the constant pull to look away from God. Later that morning, I came across a journal entry I had written exactly one year earlier. Reading those pages, I realized something surprising.

I was asking many of the same questions. But I was no longer asking them in the same way. A year ago, I wanted to understand everything. I wanted explanations. I wanted to know why I struggled and how to defeat every temptation. Looking back, I can see that much of my attention was still fixed on the battle itself. Today, something has changed.

When the storms come, my first instinct is no longer, "How do I fight this?" It has become, "Where is that Psalm again?"