Change Is a Choice

In Philippians 2:12-13 it says, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (NIV)

It’s not enough to want to change. It’s not even enough to say, “I have a dream of changing.” Dreams are worthless unless I wake up and actually act on them. I’m not going to change the problems in my life until I choose to change.

How am I going to be different in six months? Will I be emotionally stronger, mentally sharper, physically healthier or more spiritually mature?

It isn’t going to happen automatically. I’m not just going to get healthier by accident in any category of life. A lot of times we think we're waiting on God to change us. Well, it's not us waiting on God. God is waiting on us!

There is no growth in life without change. There is no change without loss. And there is no loss without pain. I’ve got to let go of some old stuff, and it’s not always going to be easy.

Some are stuck right now because they haven’t learned how to let go. That’s a choice. Ephesians 4:22 reminds us to, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (NLT).

We may think our defects are from our circumstances or chromosomes. But it doesn’t really matter where they come from. We need to deal with them. Genetics explains your inclinations, but it doesn’t excuse our sin.

Here’s the good news: Once we become a believer in Christ, we have a new power in us that is greater than those old tendencies. That power is the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (NIV).

Does that mean we are supposed to be afraid of God? Of course not! It means be afraid that we’ll miss God’s best and waste our lives. Be afraid that we will go our entire life and never know God’s purpose.

The secret to changing life is not willpower. It’s God giving us the will and the power through the Holy Spirit to do what needs to be done.