Change Is Not The Enemy

Yet if this is the answer; I had to ask, “Why then is the church still full of wounded, hurting people and still suffering from all of the above and more?” Why do I even find myself among them?”

It’s a fact that trouble comes with living. The scriptures even tell us that Jesus learned by the things he suffered. At the end of his life, Jesus said his work was finished. He freed us from sin, sickness, curses, the evil one, and life apart from God. He sent the Holy Spirit as an added gift to help us be free from the acts of sinning and lead us into righteousness. Why then do we still struggle? What am I missing? It’s like, I have all the pieces to the puzzle but they are not fitting together.

I questioned the Lord. Here is his answer. Contemplate his words for awhile.

“Bring forth joy. Bring forth strength. Bring forth all that I am, for I am in you and you are in me. I love you and you love me. We are one. Hear me. Hear what I say. Act upon those words. I will be with you.”

Did you notice the action words he used: “bring forth”, “act”, “you are” (a state of being) and “you love” (an attitude that leads to action).

“Bring forth all that I am.” That’s a loaded statement.

He is:

JOY
STRENGTH
LOVE
RIGHTEOUS
HEALTH
AND MUCH MORE …
There is a change coming. The tide is turning. God says his mercies are new everyday.

So if he is joy… and he is in me and we are one, then I am joy…It is a state of being.

Do those old things still exist? They may on occasion, because we are still confined to this body and to this earth, but now we have the ability to rise above them - to see from a new and different perspective. It is not so much our struggling that is the issue, but our choice to allow God to shine through us. Today the children play with toys called transformers. With twisting and turning, these toys have the ability to turn from one object into another. As believers in Christ, we are twisted and turned by God’s love, the teaching of his Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts cry should be “Change me, oh Lord, to be more like you.”

Change is not an enemy. It is the Christian walk.

For further thought:

Do you say - I have a temper problem?
Do you say - I hold grudges?
Do you say - I always end up in a hurtful relationship?
Do you say - I need drugs?
Do you say - I never feel good?
Do you say - I’m a bad person?
Do you say - I never get ahead?
Do you say - My life’s a mess?
Do you say - I am catching a cold, as you run up the street chasing after Mr. Cold?

Have you realized what type of statements these are? These are negative statements of belief about oneself. This is who you believe you are. What do you say that is defining YOU? What do you say about yourself?

Here is an experiment to try. Begin by defining how you think about yourself currently. Then redefine how you think about yourself with God in you and knowing he is with you.

Examples:

I have love for others.
I hold out forgiveness.
I end up in wonderful relationships.
I am well.

Then, just be - love, forgiveness, wonderful and well.

“Bring forth joy. Bring forth strength. Bring forth all that I am, for I am in you and you are in me. I love you and you love me. We are one.”