If you’ve ever looked at someone else’s relationship with God and wondered why it seems easier for them, you’re not alone.
Many women genuinely love God and still feel discouraged about their devotional life. They want to spend time with Him. They want Scripture to come alive. They want prayer to feel natural. Yet somewhere between the expectations they’ve been handed and the realities of everyday life, they begin to wonder if they’re getting it wrong.
I know that feeling well.
For years, I thought the problem was me. I wanted a deeper relationship with God, but I couldn’t seem to make the systems and routines I’d been taught fit my life. No matter how hard I tried, I often felt frustrated, inconsistent, and behind.
What I’ve learned over time is that wanting God and struggling with a system are not the same thing.
Many of us have assumed that if a particular approach to devotional life isn’t working, then we must be failing. But relationship with God can’t be reduced to a formula. It’s bigger than a routine, a checklist, or a perfectly executed quiet time.
And that’s what this season of Cultivate a Devotional Life You Love is all about.
Why So Many Women Feel Like They're Failing
I think there are far more women carrying quiet shame around their devotional life than we realize.
Somewhere along the way, many of us inherited the idea that there’s a right way to spend time with God. We learned what prayer should look like, what Bible study should look like, and what consistency should look like. Those things can be helpful, but when they become the measure of our relationship with God, they can also become heavy.
When a method works well for someone else but doesn’t seem to work for us, it’s easy to assume we’re the problem.
But the reality is much simpler than that.
You can love God deeply and still struggle with a particular routine. You can desire a closer relationship with Him and still feel disconnected from the systems you’ve been taught. Those aren’t signs of failure. They’re invitations to look beyond the formula and toward the relationship itself.
Relationship Can't Be Found in a Formula
I don’t believe it was ever God’s heart for our relationship with Him to be built on pressure, guilt, striving, and performance.
I believe it was always meant to be relationship.
The kind that grows through attention, conversation, curiosity, and presence.
That’s why this season isn’t about helping you become someone else. It’s not about finding the perfect routine or creating the ideal quiet time. It’s about exploring what it looks like to cultivate a devotional life that fits how God uniquely created you.
Throughout this series, we’ll talk about comparison, guilt, spiritual pressure, different seasons of life, noticing God in ordinary moments, and creating small rhythms that help us stay connected to Him.
My hope is that along the way, you’ll discover that relationship with God is much more personal—and much more accessible—than you’ve been led to believe.
You May Already Be Connecting With God More Than You Realize
One of the ideas we’ll return to throughout this season is that you may already be connecting with God more than you realize.
For some people, that connection happens through studying Scripture. Others notice Him most while journaling, creating, walking outside, serving others, or reflecting quietly at the end of the day. The specific activity matters less than the fact that your attention has turned toward Him.
I think many women miss those moments because they don’t fit the picture they’ve been given of what “counts” as spending time with God.
But relationship grows in all kinds of ways.
As you begin noticing where God is already meeting you, something starts to shift. The pressure eases. Comparison loses some of its grip. What once felt like performance begins to feel more like a conversation.
The goal isn’t to force yourself into someone else’s spiritual rhythms.
The goal is to discover the ways God is inviting you into relationship.
What I Hope You Remember
- Loving God deeply and struggling with devotional routines can both be true.
- Wanting God and struggling with a system are not the same thing.
- Relationship with God is bigger than a formula.
- You don’t have to have someone else’s devotional life.
- You may already be connecting with God more than you realize.
Try It This Week
Spend a few minutes thinking about times when you’ve felt especially aware of God’s presence.
Not when you thought you should…or when someone else told you that you should.
When have you actually noticed Him?
Was it outdoors? Through Scripture? In conversation? While creating? While serving? While reflecting?
Don’t evaluate it. Don’t overthink it. Just notice.
A Question to Sit With
Where might you be carrying expectations about your relationship with God that He never asked you to carry?
Continue the Conversation
If this resonated with you, here are a few ways to keep exploring:
🎧 Listen to the podcast episode
🌿 Join the Figs Community
Coming Up in This Series
- Maybe You’re Not Failing at This
- Quiet Time Is Not the Goal
- You’re Not Behind
- God Made You Uniquely
- Don’t Ignore the Tug
- Small Ways to Start
Hey there, friend,
If devotional life has felt harder than it should, I hope this encouraged you today.
Let’s cultivate a devotional life you love. Like really love. Because it is possible and it’s so much easier than you think.
Chat soon, friend.
~Rose
