"Yet a time is coming
and has now come when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

My Heavenly Daddy is healing
me from the inside out.

Transparency is Real.
Many times painful.

Daddy let me be secure in You only!

Friday, December 18, 2009

CHOOSING TO CHANGE


by Joyce Meyer

How serious are you about wanting change in your life? A lot of us want our lives to change…but we’re not willing to do our part.

If you really want things to change in your life—and experience the fullness of the life Jesus died to give you—here are some things that you need to do.

Spend Time with God
First, examine your priorities and see what needs to change. You can’t think spending 45 minutes or an hour in church on Sunday mornings is all you need to live in victory. Since the devil is alive and well every day, then you need a daily walk with God.

The wonderful thing is, there’s no formula. You can just be with Him. Pray, laugh, cry, talk or sit still and not open your mouth. It’s that easy.

Stand Up on the Inside
Next, you need to get serious about changing your life. Every one of us has an outer life and an inner life. Many of us want our outside circumstance to change while we stay depressed on the inside. But before you can get up on the outside, you have to get up on the inside.

You may have a circumstance in your life right now where you feel like you have no choice but to sit down. If that’s the case, tell yourself you’re going to stay enthusiastic, passionate, stirred up, excited, positive, and full of hope and faith on the inside. Make up your mind that you’re never going to quit.

Get Up and Clean Up!
In John 5 there’s a story about a man who I believe represents a lot of people who refuse to change.

During a Jewish feast in Jerusalem, Jesus visited the Bethesda pool where sick people gathered, hoping to get healed. One of the people waiting to get healed was a man who had been crippled for 38 years. When Jesus saw him, He asked if he wanted to be healed.

To me, the man’s answer tells us why he hadn’t been healed in 38 years. He said, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.” Bottom line, the man had avoided responsibility.

His second problem was that he blamed others. The man said, “While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

How did Jesus respond? Jesus didn’t feel sorry for him. Instead, Jesus said, rather sternly, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” In other words, stop being lazy and get on with your life.

For change to occur in your life, it’s not only important that you stop being a prisoner of your circumstances. You also have to choose to become a prisoner of hope. This means being a person who cannot get away from hope. If you’ll do this, you’ll receive double of anything that’s taken away from you. That’s a promise from God.

Never Give Up!
It was a special day in my life when I realized I didn’t have to give up; I could have hope in the worst circumstances. Regardless of what the situation looks like, I believe that God can give me a breakthrough.

We all want instantaneous breakthrough, but it’s going to take time. And you may go through long periods, even years, feeling like you haven’t made any progress at all, but you have.

Most of the time change occurs daily in little increments that you don’t even notice. But if you’ll just look back after a year or two, you’ll realize that things in your life have changed.

No matter what your circumstance or situation is, you can choose to change. You can choose to hope. You can choose to never give up. You can choose to experience the life Jesus died to give you. Now get up and go!

13 comments:

  1. Awesome post! All I can say is Amen! Thanks for the reminder.

    Blessings,
    Tammy

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  2. Woo Hoo, such an inspiring post.

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  3. Great post. Thanks for all your help to me.

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  4. AMEN!!
    Blessings, andrea

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  5. "For change to occur in your life, it’s not only important that you stop being a prisoner of your circumstances. You also have to choose to become a prisoner of hope." - words to follow.
    Thank you for posting this.
    BM

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  6. Love it. Pick up your mat and walk. Lots of wisdom in those words.

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  7. JBR I have a massive decision to make at the moment, and that post REALLY helped show me which direction is the right direction. If I say "YES" to this, I will have a seriously difficult road ahead of me, but with incredible outcome. If I say "NO", I have a seriously difficult road ahead of me but with a not so good outcome. Even typing that, helps me make the decision easier.

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  8. By the way, I'm a month off turning 38, which I don't think is a coincidence in that story!

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  9. I enjoy Joyce Meyer...especially liked this paragraph..."Most of the time change occurs daily in little increments that you don’t even notice. But if you’ll just look back after a year or two, you’ll realize that things in your life have changed. "

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  10. Selzter Shine and BrightDecember 19, 2009

    My life has been in shambles lately. For me to stumble (yea like I stumbled onto your blog) and end up here is a miracle in itself. God has been showing me some stuff I need to clear up in my life. Basically I've been ignoring or putting him off. I need to change. This post has shown up at the right time. Printing it out now and displaying it on my frige wheere I'll see it and read it every day. Merry Christmas.

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  11. Thank you JBR for posting this inspirational post! I love it, and I'll be saving it to read often... I need to get UP and GO!!! Great big hugs!

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  12. JBR,

    Love this post. The only thing to say is AMEN!

    Hugs and Merry Christmas.
    Rose

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