Solo Leveling: Growth Through The Grind

Disclaimer: This chapter is based on "Solo Leveling” a “16+” rated anime. Make sure you are of appropriate age and applying spiritual discernment over whether this show is for you to be watching before engaging. If you’ve already watched it, plan to watch it, or just wanna read this chapter, I hope you enjoy this essay and find encouragement in it. 

Solo Leveling may be the most recommended anime to me in 2024. Every Sunday morning at church a young gentleman would approach me to ask me if I've watched it yet. I’d tell him about Delicious in Dungeon, he’d tell me about Solo Leveling. After I finally got CrunchyRoll to finish out One Piece, I finally gave it my time.  

Solo Leveling follows the story of a “Hunter” named Sung Jin-woo. In recent years portals began appearing across the world. Each portal would be filled with monsters. Hunters had to go in, defeat the monsters within a certain amount of time, or the monsters would flood out. With the appearance of the gates, people began finding powers awakening within themselves. With powers on an alphabetic scale of A being great, E being hot garbage, and S being superior over all. All of this to set up the story of the weakest hunter in the world, Sung Jin-woo. An E rank hunter scraping by to earn a modest living doing grunt jobs in dungeons. He always gets hurt but always survives through his injuries. The fact he doesn’t have incredible powers makes him have to be more cautious and aware than everyone else he works with. He may be known in his region as the weakest hunter of all time, but that gave him a strength in itself.

“I never expected the weakest hunter of all mankind to be the difference between us living and dying, but I can honestly say I've never been happier to stand corrected.” - Kim Sangshik. 

Strength in Weakness 

Sung’s weakness caused him to be more observant and analytical of situations than most others, which is why anyone made it out of episode 2 alive. Not having all the strength that others possess doesn’t mean you aren’t strong in other ways. The apostle Paul makes this clear when discussing his own weaknesses.  

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. 

Paul is arguably the most important figure for spreading the gospel other than Jesus himself. He did more, wrote more, and spoke more (on record) than any other follower, yet he attributed his accomplishments and empowerment to God working through his weakness.  

Sung entered that dungeon in the first episode the weakest hunter in the world, but because of his weakness ended up leaving with infinite potential.  

The first “in game” screen for Sung is a notification that reads  ”The Secret Quest: Courage of the Weak. [x] 

You have met the qualifications to be a Player 

Will you accept?” 

The fact he had courage in weakness enabled him to be greater than in his own strength. 

Every area you are weak, is an opportunity for God to flex. 

Survival & Suffering 

Sung suffered brutally. Like I’m sure some people may never make it past that scene. It was very “Glenn & Neagan” from the Walking Dead.  

If you were to look at Sung’s suffering just in episode 2 alone, you’d never imagine something good would come of it, but his worst moment, literally lead to everything good in his life, and things that would impact the lives of countless others.  

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.“- 1 Peter 5:10 

I’ll leave the full details of Sung’s transformation out A, because it’s graphic, and B because it’s kinda confusing. The short version is Sung emerged from the trauma of the dungeon with a video game like ability. He could see menu screens, timers, challenges, goals, items etc. All of this coupled with the fact that every battle he encountered left him stronger. He gained xp like a video game and leveled up in the process. This allowed him to continually grow stronger. 

Daily Challenges 

“Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” - Deuteronomy 5:33 

One of the first things Sung notices about his new interface with the world is that he is given daily challenges. These daily challenges are required. Meaning that if he doesn’t complete them willingly, he is penalized and ends up having to be forced to accomplish the suggested task by force or fear. These tasks are required for him, because if he doesn’t complete them, he won’t be in a place that he is able to grow. That if he doesn’t have a base of conditioning and action, then he won’t have a foundation to grow.  

This is one of the reasons so many believers struggle to grow. They are given messages and circumstances that are beyond their ability, because they haven’t actually taken the time to grow themselves and be conditioned daily. Being spiritually ready for God to do big things in your life without frequent conditioning, is like expecting someone who struggles to walk to be able to do a 5k out of nowhere.  

When Sung finally levels up, he states this; “Whoa, I’m at level two. Completing daily quests never changed that.” 

Constant conditioning prepares you for future opportunities.  

Daily spiritual development is hard for people. Maintaining a lifelong routine is daunting and easily boring. It can look different for everyone. Some people use books, some people use apps, some people use music, liturgy, painting, journaling, and so many other variations. However you do it, spend time in prayer, with some scripture, and an open heart. You’ll be more prepared for whatever challenges await. 

Struggles & Trials 

Beyond the daily challenges, a system is in place that allows Sung to level up and grow stronger through each confrontation, conflict, and encounter. It’s a concept most of us have experienced in life, growing through struggle, but usually we don’t visually get to see the XP and notifications. I would honestly greatly appreciate that. To see where my next goal is. How many struggles I have to overcome in order to become stronger, more mature, and more whole. This concept is so valid in both video games and life, if you avoid conflict and hard circumstances when they seem optional, you won’t be strong enough to face the ones you have no choice in facing.  

I’m currently replaying Chrono Trigger for the first time since like 2009. I saw this play out for me in real time. I avoided every fight I could, trying to play through quickly. When I arrived at my first real challenging boss, I couldn’t beat it. I hadn’t leveled up enough because I had avoided the struggles. So I loaded a previous save, fought every enemy along the way, and surprise surprise, when I arrived at the same boss, I was able to dispatch him with no issue.  

I know this sounds much easier to digest when it comes to video games and anime, but we need to understand this is completely valid in our lives spiritually as well.  

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” - James 1:2-4  

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.“ - Romans 5: 3-5 

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. “James 1:12

“ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.“ 1 Peter 1:6-7 

James, Peter, & Paul all give us the same idea. That we become stronger and are better equipped by the struggles we face. Hiding from our struggles can get in the way of this. Trying to shortcut them can hinder our growth. Trying to handle them in our own strength can rob us of the strength that is being offered to us.  

If you’re anything like me though, you’re tired of the struggles. Some of you might be barely hanging on. Regular life is on the verge of taking you out. Sometimes just existing can seem like its own trial and struggle. I implore you. Don’t give up. Don’t give up on growing spiritually, but also just don’t give up on existing too. I’m saying this as someone who was in tears and felt like giving up on everything like 4 hours ago. I’m not telling you this as someone who has anything together, but as someone who has seen the truth of what scripture and life as well teaches, that if you can overcome and endure, you will be blessed and stronger.  

When Sung is facing down a full hall of lycans/steel mouthed wolves he realizes that he has only two options, give up or grow.  

“I’m, not going down easy….come at me with all you’ve got…Fight as hard as we can till the very end. If it means I’ll get stronger. I’ll follow these rules, no matter how ridiculous they are.” 

When we can move to a perspective of knowing that we will be better off by what we overcome, we won’t be so prone to hide or give-up in the face of struggles. 

Ability Unlocked 

One of the cool things that kept the anime interesting was the fact that as Sung defeated different creatures and leveled up, he gained different abilities. Whether it was the ability to command a shadow army, move in invisibility, have incredible shielding or so many add-ons. He didn’t just  grow in physical strength. He grew in abilities which made him much more formidable and near unbeatable with every foe and challenge he faced. Even with the seemingly insurmountable black ant that would later be named Beru, a creature that was stronger than anything he had faced previously, but because of all the abilities he had acquired, Sung was able to not only defeat Beru, but enlist him.  

While we do become stronger through what we endure, we don’t always gain abilities from the process. It’s a lot more manual and intentional on our end, but still equally important.  

Peter implores the church to add to their lives and spiritual walks abilities that will enable them to grow and overcome in many of the ways that Sung did as well. 

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” 2 Peter 1:5-9 

Peter gave a list of add-ons to faith that would be most beneficial to us in the challenges and calling we have received in Christ. Goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, Godliness, mutual affection, and love. These are the abilities we need to not only unlock, but to also equip.  

Peter makes a promise that as long as you are growing in those areas and additions, you will be effective and productive in your faith. With the appropriate skills and abilities equipped, you’ll be nearly unstoppable. He follows it up with a warning as well. He states that if you ignore this process, you don’t see clearly and you forget the gravity of your circumstances. Much like the people included in Sung’s gate adventure that changed the outcome of his life. They heard the warnings, and when they ignored them, found themselves paying heavy consequences. We don’t have the luxury of living with that kind of ignorance.  

Blessings of Growth 

By the end of season 2, there are so many people’s lives who are changed and better because of the work that Sung Jin-woo put into this process.  

One of the first true goals we see Sung get passionate about is being able to rescue his mother from her ailment of eternal slumber. He becomes aware of an elixir in his challenges that would be able to potentially return his mother to health. So, he sets out on incredibly dangerous and arduous quests to do so. If you are a fan of Narnia, then you’ll recognize that this is basically the subplot of “The Magicians Nephew.” A boy venturing into a magical world with the intentions of gaining a mystical item to save his terminally ill parent. Him having a goal made all of his tasks worth it. 

When we have our eyes set on proper motivation, it makes the things we endure, that much more endurable.  

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.“ - Romans 12:12 

Even though Sung went through incredible trials to obtain this elixir, none of those trials and efforts seemed like even an inconvenience compared to seeing his mother well again.   

Growing in our faith and spiritual lives will be challenging and probably frustrating and discouraging at times as well. But one day, we’ll stand before God, redeemed, restored, and renewed, and all those struggles won’t seem so strenuous in hindsight.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.“ - Romans 8:18 

Romans 8:18 is what I quote often when I'm asked how I'm doing. I don’t want to lie and say I'm okay when I'm not. I also don’t want to trauma dump on people who don’t have the capacity or bandwidth to carry my burdens while they are attempting casual conversation. So, instead, I quote that verse. It reminds me to keep things in perspective, but also to hold on to hope. 

You have power and potential with God in your life. He wants you to grow. He wants you to overcome. He hasn’t abandoned you. In fact, he’s given you everything you need.  

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” - 2 Peter 1: 3-4.  

Sung received his grace and power through a mysterious force (yet to be revealed in season 2 at least), but we know where our power comes from. At the end of season 2 Sung is asked this question; 

“Just what will you do with all the power you yield? - Go Gun-hee.

I’m posing the same question to you and the power God has in you and for you. What are you going to do with all that God has given you?  

Don’t allow yourself to become stagnant or complacent. Just because you’ve overcome some struggles doesn’t mean you are supposed to get comfortable. As Sun Jin-woo shared before the credits rolled on season 2; 

“On to the next target”