How Change Really Begins
With the right tools, change is possible.
We’ve all struggled with one thing or another. Our addictions or “vices” vary, but one thing remains constant, change is not easy. Intentional change is not as simple as making one quick decision.
We all need the right tools to change and become healthier versions of ourselves.
Most importantly, we need the Holy Spirit.
The tools needed for change strongly depend on the issues from which we need redemption.
For some people, change could take surrounding yourself with the right people or being in the right environment. If you’re struggling with addition, a rehabilitation center may be the right environment.
No matter what steps you must take to reach your envisioned life, change is possible. This may be difficult to believe if your life has been spiraling with the chaos of everything. But you need to hear these words, “you can change.”
God can change us because His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Maybe you need to envision a life beyond this stuck place and into a place of trusting the Lord. You may need counseling or a change in a big part of your life. But I promise you, life and godliness are available to you.
One of the biggest mistakes we make in our quest for change is aiming for perfection.
For example, it may not be possible to completely eradicate anxiety because our emotions will always be with us, and there will be seasons that we wrestle.
God has made great and precious promises through which you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. Scripture reminds us that there is a way out, and that it comes through His promises and personhood.
[We often think we can fix ourselves.]
However, we can’t begin to change without accessing the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We’re looking to things like self-help or fixing ourselves. But none of this is enough for change. We don't just suit up for warfare and stand there. We call on God to go with us, just as David did when he defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17).
Likewise, it’s impossible to just “get out of your head” and change. We need both the Holy Spirit and the necessary tools for change. It is a matter of both suiting up with the weapons from God and accessing the power that God has given us.
It's doing the right things in life so that we’re walking with God. It's the self-discipline He gave us. So, it's both the choice and the agency that we have, and calling on the Spirit for the power that only He can supply.
Until we understand it's both, then we're living using one side of our body, and the weaker side at that. You need the Holy Spirit to call on the parts of the armor that we need, understand Scripture, pray, and to change.
Throughout Scripture we see a command language about being self-disciplined. It is the Holy Spirit that is producing the life change whose power rests upon us, that even gives us the ability to change. Scripture tells us that we’re slaves to sin and we’re dead in our trespasses, unable to move. But because the Holy Spirit rescues us, and the blood of Jesus has found us, we have agency to obey. We can do it, and we need to do it.
There's a lot of command language throughout Scripture about things we do to stay in step with the Spirit. However, it is never just that. We are dependent on God.
If there’s one thing that God is desiring of you above every other thing, it’s dependence.
Self-righteousness is our own effort, trying to be righteous without God. But I’m talking about a collaboration of us with God in dependance.
The greatest believers I know are the most desperate believers. God is looking for someone whose heart is completely devoted to him. If you want to please God, He is looking for a heart that is dependent on him, that calls on him in every situation. Our God will help us in our weakness.
God’s hand in each of our lives may look different, but you will feel it. It may be through a thought you've never had before or a new person coming into your life at just the perfect time, and all of a sudden, your attention is toward the Spirit and the things of God. You begin to notice God advocating for you and causing things to happen on your behalf. It’s all working together, and that’s supernatural.
Our first value statement is: “we work with God.” It’s unbelievable how hard our team works every day, but we work with God and we know it. The way we know it is because it feels like even though we work hard, and the team is incredibly gifted, they would all still say the secret sauce is the Spirit. He does things we don't even know to ask for. The Spirit is working beside us, giving us ideas and direction as we pray to Him.
To walk with the Spirit is to always ask for His help, and God brings it. He may bring it through an impression, a conversation, brainstorming, a circumstance, and sometimes He brings it in the middle of the night when I'm meeting with him.
So, we must pray and look for the Spirit to work on our behalf. But we're also working, changing, doing the right things, and putting ourselves in positions for the Spirit to move.
Some of you need rehab from your addictions, whether it’s alcohol, drugs, sex, or even pornography. You need to go check yourselves in, and you need to tell somebody about it. Some of you need rehab from other things that are causing you to be unhealthy, like social media. You may need to build a world where the Spirit can lead and take care of you again. Some of you need counseling and to make some hard choices that will lead to health. And you know what choices those are. God will bring those to your mind, and you’ve got to just do it.
Change isn't mysterious.
It's laid out in scripture that we would follow God. And as we do, we become more holy. Our choices affect our holiness. We've got to be people that are suiting up and running from what is evil. Choosing that and participating in that every day is what begins to change the world.
I know this can be overwhelming and you can feel guilty or ashamed. But I want to remind you that there's a grace over us, and this is the beauty of the gospel. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
We can call on God’s name without shame because he knows our flesh.
He knows our tendencies, and yet, He loves us anyway. Addiction affects every part of our lives, from relationships, friendships etc. But if we’re stuck in shame, nothing will change. We’ve got to pray against the enemy and the ways he wants to lock you up and make you believe that you can't ever change. We can change. There are ways to do it, and we're going to walk through how we change.
We don't change ourselves, but we participate. We work with these divine, beautiful promises, and we put on the nature of Christ that He has made available to us. We believe the truth of Scripture, that there is a different way to live, and it’s fueled by the Holy Spirit.
We’re not people of fear. We do not bow down to shame.
Instead, we’re people of love, power, and self-discipline.
We’re people that can call on the name of God and He arrives to help us. That's who we are when we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus and clicked on this article because you want to be a healthy person, it begins with that. It begins with a relationship with God, and it can happen for you.
Lastly, I pray that this season gives you great hope and a vision for a new way to live.
This is only a highlight reel of an episode from our ‘Made For This’ podcast. You can listen to the full episode at the top of this page. Text the word “podcast” to 221-422-5626 to connect with us. We would love to hear what the podcast has meant to you, where you're from, and who you are.
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