Are you willing to be changed?
Often when we arrive in a new setting or phase in our life, we conclude to ourselves that, “finally I have a chance to start over”. We promise ourselves that this time we will do things differently, in hopes of a new beginning where our past is forgotten.
But there is a difference between doing the changing and being changed. It’s found in who’s power you rely on to make it happen.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14
No one can say “ Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3b
Our mindset should be centered on the belief that through the power of the Holy Spirit we will experience transformation. It allows for God’s intervention and salvation to pour over our actions and transgressions. It affects how we take on new circumstances and how we handle past actions.
We tend to think of God’s mercy like clicking “undo”; as if it never happened. Our actions can confirm this, when we look for the “starting over” moment in our life. Our sinful nature wants us to forget about past sins. How else can we repeat our mistakes? Our self-reliance behavior keeps us set on trying to solve our problems ourselves. But when we live into the Holy Spirit as the one who changes us, then the Spirit is unhindered to do His work. Our past becomes the testimony of what the Spirit has made anew. Others get to witness what grace is capable of doing to a life.
So when we are looking for real change we should be thoughtful in what we pray for. Not for the power to change but for the Spirit to intercede.
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