3 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me as a New Believer

If someone had helped me understand the following three things when I was a new believer, I may have avoided a lot of discouragement and confusion. So, if you have recently begun your own journey with God, I hope that sharing this list will help you avoid some of the mistakes I made.

Don’t compare your spiritual journey to anyone else’s.

During my first two years as a believer, I was constantly comparing where I was at in my journey to the years of growth I saw in others. I compared myself to Christians with large social media followings, pastors I watched on YouTube, and my new Christian friends. Everyone else seemed to know more about the Bible and have more incredible testimonies of God working in their lives than I did.

I would often spiral into condemnation and wonder why it was taking so long for me to be at the same “level” as all the believers around me. Thankfully, God showed me that He isn’t in any rush, wishing I would hurry up and get my spiritual life together. In fact, He enjoys every moment of this journey with me. I needed to let go of perfectionism and pride. I needed to humble myself and trust that everything will happen in His perfect timing, and know that there are beautiful lessons He wants to teach me along the way.

Prioritize reading the Bible above other Christian books.

While Christian books are a wonderful resource, I initially spent more time reading them than reading the Bible. Part of me felt I needed to read other books so I could better understand the Bible and how to grow spiritually, and another part of me simply found other books to be more interesting and easier to understand.

Now that I have read the entire Old Testament (not just the New Testament), I wish I had prioritized reading it sooner. The two are inextricably linked, and the Bible has become so much more powerful and alive to me now. St. Augustine described the relationship between the Old and New Testaments perfectly: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.”

Even if the Bible is initially hard to understand, I would encourage new believers to prioritize reading it through at least once before reading other Christian books. It is important to be able to read Christian books through a Biblical lens rather than the other way around. However, the one book I would recommend reading alongside your first or second read-through of the Bible is The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Dr. Michael Heiser.

Search the Word and take things to God in prayer before going to others for answers.

In the beginning of my journey, I relied a lot on YouTube pastors, Christian influencers, and my friends when I was confused about something and needed answers. Just like Christian books are a wonderful resource, so are fellow believers, but I needed to learn to first honor God’s Word and seek His guidance before going to anyone else.

Ideally, we would all have a mentor who is rooted in Scripture to disciple us when we become a believer. However, I did not have that and I trusted what just about any self-proclaimed Christian said to be true. I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit always course-corrected and brought me back to Biblical truth when I was deceived about something. Now I know to test everything against the Word of God and take it to Him in prayer.

What is something you wish someone had told you as a new believer?

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