To be transformed
means you are changed entirely from the inside out. When we become born-again
Christians, 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) says we are “a new creation (a new
creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has
passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!”
The Holy Spirit
comes to live in us, and He works in us—transforming our mind, will and
emotions—so we become more like Jesus day by day. As we grow spiritually, the
good work that’s happening inside us can be seen through the way we live, and
we become testimonies of what God has done.
Sadly, many times people don’t believe they can be completely changed. And often they don’t believe other people can change. But the only thing that never changes is God (Hebrews 13:8). And He wants us to dare to believe that He “is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]” (Ephesians 3:20 AMP).
The question is
what are you expecting God to do for you? Maybe you’re having a hard time
believing that your kids can change, your marriage can improve or that you can
ever lose weight, get a better job or get completely out of debt.
But Jeremiah 29:11 says God’s thoughts and plans for us are “for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” He has a good plan for you, and you can dare to believe He can heal you anywhere you hurt and help you with every problem you face. It’s time to start expecting more from God than you’ve ever believed He would do for you before.
We need to change our thinking about…
God. It’s so important for us to
know who God really is. He’s not an angry God, and He’s not “harsh, hard,
sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant” (Matthew 11:30).
God loves you, and if you know how much He loves you right now, then you’ll
have hope that the things in your life that need to change can be changed.
Ourselves. If you don’t like yourself,
you’re going to have difficulty in every area of your life. Don’t demand
perfection from yourself. No one is perfect, and no matter what we do, we
usually don’t think it’s enough: we don’t pray enough, work hard enough, study
the Bible enough, etc. God spoke to my heart one day and told me, “Joyce,
you’re never enough, but I’m always more than enough.” That’s why Jesus came!
Believe that in Christ, there’s more right than wrong with you, and you can do
whatever you need to do in life through Him (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 15:5;
Philippians 4:13).
Trials, or the hard, painful things we go through
in life. Habakkuk 3:19 says God is our strength and He will help us to “walk [not
to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make spiritual progress upon [our]
high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” James 1:2-4 encourages
us to “consider it wholly joyful…whenever you are enveloped in or encounter
trials,” because “the trial and proving of your faith” are what God works
through to make us “fully developed…lacking in nothing.”
The level of importance we put on what others think
about us. It’s easy to let what others do and say affect us, and to feel
like “If you don’t like me, my day is ruined.” But the truth is, if we’re more
concerned with being a people-pleaser than a God-pleaser, we won’t become what
God created us to be and do what He’s calling us to do (Galatians 1:10).
I want to encourage
you to study scriptures that reveal God’s true character and His heart for you.
And dare to believe that there’s nothing in your life He can’t change—including
you!