Spiritual formation is rarely fast. It doesn’t rush to meet our expectations or yield to our schedules. Nor is it a form of self-help or something that we can manufacture or achieve on our own. Rather, spiritual formation is the slow, quiet work of Jesus Christ being formed in us. And as Christ is formed in us, that transformation is never for our sake alone, but for the benefit of others.

As Dave Wang and Amy Drennan point out in this issue’s cover article, we often think of spiritual practices — solitude, prayer, silence or fasting — when we think about spiritual formation. Practices like these certainly help cultivate spiritual growth, but formation itself is less about specific practices and more about the journey of being shaped more and more into Christ’s likeness.

Ted Harro, president of Renovaré, also pushes back against the idea of spiritual formation as “an elaborate self-improvement project.” He says that we are invited into “a Spirit-empowered cooperative effort with God, where God does all the heavy lifting. Our part is to intentionally open ourselves up to the friendship and healing that God offers.”

Indeed, God’s transforming work in our “inward person” often unfolds quietly in the ordinary rhythms of life — through community, prayer and surrender. In his article, David Ferguson shares how gratitude has been born in him through seasons of suffering, while Sheila Wise Rowe reflects on how Sabbath and rest stand as holy resistance against being formed by the culture’s idols of achievement and hurry.

Whether we recognize it or not, something or someone is always forming us — our ideas, emotions, decisions and relationships. The question is not if we are being formed, but into what — and by whom. As Paul reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind ….” (Romans 12:2). This edition of Evangelicals is an invitation to pause, to pay attention, and to yield to God’s grace as it transforms our inner life for the sake of our outward witness.