Capacity for Change
Almost every morning my 16 month old daughter wakes up between 5-6am. I roll out of bed, get her out of her crib, grab her milk cup, and turn on Sesame Street while I snooze on the couch with her in my arms until about 7am when we go in to wake up my husband for work. It’s a terrible routine. I hate that this is my routine, but I’m so tired that I just can not get myself to change it. Every time I think about it, it reminds me of all the other things I want to change about who I am or how I live.
I should read my bible WAY more often than I do.
I should incorporate exercise into my life, because I know how good it would be for my energy level.
I need to put more effort into the 2% of my marriage that isn’t already perfect ;)
I should clean and organize more.
I should, I could, I need to, I would be better off if...
But change is hard. Change is really, really hard. For as well as I adapt to change in the world around me, it seems an insurmountable task to even lift a finger to work toward actively changing myself. I absolutely know how much better off I would be if I would just work toward certain changes... and I just don’t.
We live in a sinful world, so I imagine there is something you wish you could change about your life, too.
Let me lead you to a few places in scripture which address our capacity for change.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
2 Corinthians 5:16
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!
Philippians 1:7
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is not cheering us on from the sidelines, He is bearing the brunt of the load. He has not written a “self-help” guide, but promises to help and guide us so we don’t have to go through life ourselves. When God addresses our ability to change, “our ability” has no place in the process. We CAN do all things, but ONLY through Him who gives us strength.
Do you want more patience with your children, motivation to lose weight or get fit, or freedom from the snares of a secret sin?
Draw near to Him who has “loved you with an everlasting love, (and) drawn you with loving kindness. (He) will build you up again. And you will be rebuilt.” (Jeremiah 31:3).
It's funny how we put so much pressure on ourselves to make these changes in our lives, and forget to utilize the Master and Creator of life itself when He has made himself so accessible to us! When your desire is to grow into the person God wants you to be, to grow your life into one that reflects and serves Him better, it only makes sense to involve Him in every step of the process. Let the Gardner do His work, and stop getting in His way thinking you need to do it all by yourself.
One of the ways God works to grow us is by giving us encouragement through each other! Do you have a story or helpful hint from your life that has helped you change into who God wants you to be? We'd love to hear how God has worked to grow YOU!
