Most people don’t stop growing spiritually because they stop believing. They stop because they don’t know how to hold on to spiritual progress once life gets busy. Schedules fill up. Pressure increases. Relationships thin out. And slowly, almost unnoticed, the progress you once made begins to slip.

That is the tension the apostle Paul was addressing near the end of his life. After decades of following Jesus, planting churches, and leading others, Paul made a surprising admission. “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on” (Philippians 3:12, NLT). We should not be chasing perfection. Instead, we commit to progress.

Forgetting the past and looking forward to the future sounds inspiring, but it is often difficult in practice. Regret has a way of staying close and fear makes the future feel risky. So instead of pressing on, many people hesitate. We stop taking steps altogether, not because we are unwilling, but because you are unsure if you can sustain the progress you’ve already made.

Scripture addresses that fear with one short but weighty sentence. “But we must hold on to the progress we have already made” (Philippians 3:16). That statement assumes something important: 

Progress does not hold itself. Growth left unattended will fade.

Christian faith was never meant to be lived in isolation. The language of the New Testament is deeply relational. Love one another. Encourage one another. Carry one another’s burdens. Spiritual growth happens when someone else knows your story, sees your weakness, and refuses to let you drift.

This kind of connection is not about pretending everything is fine, it is about choosing honesty over image. The right people do not erase your past. They see it, cover it with grace, and help you build toward something better. They stay when things get messy and they show up when progress feels fragile.

Paul pressed on because he knew who he belonged to and who was walking with him. He was free from chasing perfection because he was committed to movement. One step at a time, and not alone.

If you have ever wondered how to hold on to spiritual progress, the answer is less complicated than you may think. Growth fades in isolation. Progress holds when people stay steady. Faith moves forward best when someone else is fighting for it with you.

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