Change! That’s life’s greatest challenge.
All of us want to change something about ourselves. Most of us want to change a lot of things. A whole bunch of us would like to lose a few pounds and keep it off. Some people wish they weren’t so fearful, so anxious. Some wish they had a better work ethic. Others wish they had the capacity to relax. Patience is a tough one for me. Just ask my wife and kids. Being too impulsive seems to go hand-in-hand with a lack of patience and can cause a lot of problems. So the list goes on.
But change is hard. If it weren’t hard, we would’ve changed these things already. It is true—we haven’t tried all that hard with some of the items on our list. But others we have, and without success. Thankfully, change is possible, and we can look back on some successes. But there are also those stubborn albatrosses that we just can’t seem to shake. When we really work at it, we may have a few encouraging days or weeks, but then there’s the relapse.
It’s sort of like trying to hold a beach ball underwater. We may be able to succeed for a minute or two, but it requires all of our energy and attention. And sooner or later we have something else to think about, something else to do, and it pops back up. Regardless of how long we hold it underwater, that environment never becomes its natural habitat. It always fights to resurface, and sooner or later it wins. That seems to be the way it is with certain unwanted qualities of our lives.
In one sense it is good that change is hard. If change were easy, we would be a different person everyday. You would constantly find yourself living with a different husband, a different wife, working for a different employer, raising kids without having any idea of who they are. Our resistance to change is a God-given quality that provides stability for our lives. So, at one level it is a good thing that change is hard.
But that human quality of resistance to change becomes a barrier when we try to deal with characteristics that should change. How do we deal with those issues?
How DO we deal with those issues? Well, the first step is to establish a relationship with our Creator by receiving Jesus Christ. When we enter into that relationship, God places His Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit provides the power to change—to become the person God designed us to be.
However, even though the Holy Spirit provides that enablement, change doesn’t come automatically. This is not a quick and easy fix. Those of us who are believers are all too aware of that. We have received Christ, but we still struggle with some of those nagging issues, and at times we find ourselves losing the struggle. Believers fail at diets, struggle with anger, and find themselves plagued by the same array of besetting sins that defeat unbelievers.
Therefore, becoming a believer puts change within our reach, but it still leaves work to be done, a battle to be fought. And we’re still left with the question of how to accomplish that work, win that battle. Therefore, though being a Christian constitutes a step toward the goal of change, there is more to the process.
If we’re not seeking to change some areas of our lives, we probably should be. All of us can use some change. So how to change remains one of life’s most important issues. In the postings ahead we will talk more about the “how-to” of this great challenge of life.
This topic is relevant to this blog because contemporary evangelicals are faltering in this area of change. This is evidenced by the emotional, behavioral, and relational problems to which they have fallen prey. Evangelical reformation must include a fresh look at the biblical nature of change.