Spiritual growth isn’t always dramatic, sometimes it’s slow, quiet, and easy to miss in real time.
What are the small signs that tell you, “Yes, I’m actually growing in my faith”?
Is it more patience? More peace? A change in how you react to stress?
Or maybe it’s simply realizing you see others with more compassion than you did before.
I’d love to hear the ways people here recognize spiritual growth in their own lives.
@ellenvera I love your questions! They make me reflect on my personal journey with Christ, and my spiritual growth. Your questions remind me of what I’ve learned and what I’m learning, and how God is changing me, shaping me into who He created me to be.
I’ve been held to the fire for a long time now. I testified to this at my baptism in 2024, and shared the 3 years leading to that pivotal point in my life. But He’s not done yet. I can feel Him hammering me, bending me, shaping me, and although it isn’t comfortable, I rejoice in it. God is paying attention to little, insignificant me, and is busy working on me, and THAT just fills me with so much joy!
I’ve changed in how I look at other people. I’m not a people fan, preferring the solitude of the woods. I’d rather deal with bears, badgers and mountain lions than people, but that’s changing. My heart is changing, but I pray for this daily. For God to smash my heart of stone, for Him to just break me and create a human who sees all people as God’s children. Four years ago I wasn’t that person. Today, when I see certain demographics I remind myself that God loves them, and I’m to love them too. I find myself actively searching them out hoping for a conversation with them. Just a friendly “Hi! That’s a really nice shirt, dress, love your hair, your boots, basically anything to let that person know that they are seen..and appreciated.
Baby steps here, baby steps 
Hello Ellenvera. I just did a whole series on how to grow spiritually. If you wish, you can check it out here. However, you are asking how you know? I would give someone this outline to evaluate.
1- How much time do you spend with God? Praying, reading the Word, etc.
2- What is number one in your life? What are you spending the most time on or doing?
3- Look at your fruit. What have you done to serve others? Share the Gospel, etc.
I think the best way to measure your growth is to keep it simple. Do you look any different than how you did before your salvation?
Peter
Spiritual growth is like ones physical growth, unnoticed at the time untill an item of clothing no longer fits or someone comments on how one has changed.
It is not something one can consiously do, but through living one does grow.
Yes, I know I have grown spiritually in the way I perceive others….more compassion!
For me, spiritual growth looked like the day I actually grasped what Jesus was talking about when He said, “Take up your cross daily and follow Me” ~ Luke 9:23. Boom. Things changed. I quit trying to accessorize my life with faith and realized this life is not about me at all. It is about who I serve and who I follow.
I knew I was growing when the Word of God was no longer optional, but critical. The urgency of knowing the Scriptures and speaking truth to others became very real. When Christ broke through and showed me the weight of eternity and the brevity of this life, chasing other things no longer mattered. Obedience, truth and abiding with Him became what was important.
That is when I knew. Not because I felt spiritual, but because my priorities shifted. Christ became the center, and everything else moved around Him.
Well for me I noticed my belt of truth had to be let out a little. Fortunately 1 size fits all. Then I noticed my helmet of salvation got so tight no lie from hell could knock it off. As I continued to grow that massive sword of the spirit became much easier to swing at his enemies. I began slinging scripture like Jesus in the wild. Same with the shield of faith. Used to drop it too low leaving me open to doubt but now I can lift it high and lock it tight with all my brothers and sisters and together in agreement we can makes his enemies into a foot stool fit for a king of kings!