How To Change


How To Change

Since you are reading this then we can assume that you have something in your life that you want to change. Many of us have tried for years to change ourselves or our situations – only to be stuck in the same-old thing.

God has provided a method for change that is long lasting and it is based in Himself and His Word.

Real Change

If you want real change that will be long lasting then that change must be directed by God and be according to His ways. Jesus told us a story about a person who wanted to clean their house, but failed to maintain that cleanliness:

“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26 NIV)

The problem the man in the scripture faced was that once he cleaned his house, he did not occupy it with things of God. Thus, when the evil spirit was looking for a place to rest it was able to come back and re-inhabit the house because there was nothing there to prevent it from coming back.

For us today this means that when we seek to change something in our lives whether it is a sinful behavior or an oppressive situation – when we clean up – we must occupy the empty space with Godly things.

Have you ever tried to change something in your life and it works for a while then things go back to the way they once were? Then you feel like you are right back where you started or even worse.

I can remember many years ago when I was yoked to a drug addiction and no matter how much I wanted to stop using – I could not stop on my own. I tried several times to quit. I tried many different methods of quitting. All of them produced the same result. No matter how hard I tried, I was able to stop for a short time and then I would go back to my former behavior. This happened time and time again.

But once I gave my life to Jesus and prayed to God that He would deliver me from the crippling yoke of drug addiction, I was delivered.

Why Change Does Not Always Last for Long

Even though I changed, I could have gone right back to it had I not occupied myself with God, with prayer, and the reading of His Word. I also had to stay away from old patterns of behavior and people who were stuck in that lifestyle.

This was sometimes a day-by-day struggle and even a minute-by-minute battle as I replaced the old behavior and old patterns of thinking with new behavior and new patterns of thinking. I thank God that fifteen years ago I was delivered because I let God lead my life and left old things behind.

The Bible tells us in Psalms that God must build our house:

Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
(Psalm 127:1 NIV)

This is why we often fail when trying to change ourselves. Unless we guard ourselves with God, the change will be temporary and short-lived. We will have to face the same issue again and again. But if we trust in God and practice what He says then we can have permanent change, leaving the old behind for good.

Making Change Long Lasting

When we stay rooted in God then we are able to withstand the pressure to retreat back to our former behavior.

As Jesus explained, our house must be rooted in solid ground:

“I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:47-49 NIV)

God’s formula, if there is such a thing, is simple: trust in God, rely on Him, and do things His way and all will be well.

Is there something in our house that needs cleaning?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank you for who you are and how you have provided for me a way to change. Help me Lord to maintain my life in you. Help me Lord to stay in your Word and to pray everyday. Help me Lord to look to you in times of trouble, in times of weakness, and in times of temptation. Help me Lord to build my house according to your ways. Help me Lord to stay focused on you, leaving the old behind. I thank you Lord for what you are doing in my life, I pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.