Dare to Change

“Be not afraid of growing slowly. Be afraid only of standing still.”

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)

Making a change requires a giant leap of faith, and many people fear that they lack what it takes to make that change; taking that leap of faith is risky! When situations and circumstances are working in your life, why fix them, right? Why get out of your comfort zone? We typically have a fear of the unknown and we avoid what we fear. Many of us will come up with all sorts of reasons why it will never work, and besides, we won’t get the results we expected. But we need to commit ourselves and work on it anyway, because “when you are through changing, you are through” (Bruce Barton).  I think we are all aware of things in our life that need to be refined, whether it is a change in attitude, behavior, or work condition. The healthiest and most content people are those who are aware of where they fall short and are able to come to God in truth and humility and believe in His ability to change us.  A favorite story of mine is in the bible in the book of Acts where God changed the life of one of the most cruel and immoral Christian haters into one of His most useful and virtuous servants. What a wonderful demonstration of God’s power! And He can do the same in our own lives; it is His continuing grace that can change and transform us. Change is too hard when you try to do it without Him!

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. (Galations 2:20 ~NLT)

I believe that God loves me just the way I am, but He refuses to leave me that way and not grow! And if I am going to choose to invest my time and energy to make and accept a change, I want to make it a positive and meaningful one that will bring richness and value into my life. God wants to make all of us into a better and more holy people, both on the inside and the outside. He will bring change into our lives through His amazing love and in His own time and way and we must fight the urge to resist it. If we are going to grow in our walk, we must be willing to invite and allow change in our lives. We must manage and respond to change so that it will work for us, not against us. Life changes because we are part of it, and we can always make it change for the better.

“The healthiest people are those who are aware of where they fall short, and choose to believe in His love and His ability to change us”. (Unknown)

Linking up with Wendy on Scripture Sunday and Joan on The Beauty in His Grip