What's choking your growth?
Part 2 - Disrupting the worries that stall spiritual maturity
In Part 1, we explored the mid-life spiritual plateau—when faith feels flat and growth stalls.
In Part 2 we’re digging into what holds that growth back. And one of the biggest blockers? Worries.
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The parable of the soils
Jesus’ parable of the soils (Luke 8:4-15) paints a powerful picture of how people respond to God’s word.
Some people hear God’s word, but the devil snatches it away before it takes root and they are saved (v 12).
Others receive it with joy, but because they have no foundations, when trials come they fall away (vv 13-14).
Still others begin to grow, but life’s worries, riches and pleasures choke their growth so that they don’t mature (v 14).
Only the good soil, those who hear the word, hold onto it, and persevere produce a crop, “a hundred times more than was sown” (vv 8,15).
As we consider the spiritual plateau it’s that third group that hits close to home. And provides us with some wise insights to restart our spiritual growth.
It’s not just about evangelism
I used to read this parable as a message solely for evangelism—about how people respond when they first hear God’s word. Some reject it, some embrace it briefly, and some truly believe. And it’s provided a level of fatalistic comfort. If someone doesn’t respond, I’m encouraged that even Jesus got different responses. My takeaway? Faithfully scatter the seed and trust God with the soil.
That’s still true. But there’s more here.
On closer reading, Jesus is saying something deeper—something for us as lifelong followers of Christ. This parable also reveals long-term threats to spiritual maturity. And it speaks powerfully into seasons like a spiritual plateau.
A longer timeline
Notice the shift in pacing in this parable.
The first two soils involve short-term reactions: the word is snatched or scorched quickly.
But the third soil is different. It grows. Slowly. Alongside the thorns. Until it’s eventually choked and fails to mature.
As commentator Alfred Plummer puts it:
The choking is not a sudden process ... it takes time. As they go on their way through life ... the choking of the good growth takes place. Therefore they never do reach the goal.1
Darrell Bock adds:
We tend to present this as a one-moment response … But the question is much more comprehensive: ‘As you look at your spiritual walk up to today, which soil are you?’2
This parable isn’t just a snapshot—it’s a slow-motion video of spiritual drift. It forces us to ask:
What thorns are growing in our lives, threatening to choke our maturity in Christ?
Because identifying these subtle but powerful distractions is a key step toward disrupting the plateau. Let’s start with worries.
Worries
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What keeps you awake at night?
Work stress? Family pressures? That discouraging comment that still stings?
Worry has a way of swirling through our minds, making peace feel out of reach. It clouds our view of God’s sovereignty and leaves us feeling like we’re carrying everything alone.
But we’re not meant to.
Scripture doesn’t tell us to manage or suppress our worries—it tells us to cast them on the Lord.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Jesus reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount: if God feeds the birds, how much more will he care for us?
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:32-33)
When we hold onto our worries, they slowly take over—cluttering our thoughts, distracting our hearts and choking the word’s fruitfulness in us.
But when we turn to him? He gives us something the world can’t:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
There’s no quick fix. But every time we pray, trust and persevere, God loosens worry’s grip. And slowly, over time, the seed begins to grow again.
What goes wrong?
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For many of us who’ve followed Jesus for years, these verses are familiar. Nothing new, right?
But if we know these truths, why do worries still choke our spiritual growth?
Mid-life often brings heavier burdens—ageing parents, growing children, increasing financial and work responsibilities.
But I suspect there’s something deeper going on: ingrained habits that dull our engagement with God’s word.
Here are three possibilities—
We’re not soaking in God’s word.
A few hours a week—church, Bible study, skimming a few verses—might feel like enough. But Psalm 1 pictures the flourishing believer as one who delights in God’s word and meditates on it day and night (Ps 1:2). That kind of immersion changes us.We’re not storing it in our hearts.
What sets fruitful soil apart? The word is retained (Luke 8:15). It’s memorised, meditated on, held onto—especially in our weak spots, like worry. When we hide God’s promises deep in our hearts this shapes our reactions, not just our intentions.We’re not doing what it says.
We know the verses, but don’t act on them. Instead of casting our cares on God, we stew, scroll or try to fix things.
But Scripture calls us to trust, to pray—not because it’s easy, but because God’s way brings life.
If we’re not hearing, holding and obeying God’s word, our worries will quietly overtake us—like lantana, invasive, and choking.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says … whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it … they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1: 22-25)
Let’s not settle for spiritual drift. Let’s disrupt the plateau. Let’s be those who, when faced with worries, hear the word, hold onto it, and persevere—and see a harvest a hundred times what was sown.
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Plummer, A. The International Critical Commentary: St Luke (1901: Edinburgh, T & T Clark), p. 221.
Bock, D.L. The NIV Application Commentary: Luke, (1996: Grand Rapids, Zondervan), p. 232.