I Need To Choose to Change

In review of Ephesians 4:22 it says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”

Bottom Line:

Get rid of your old sinful self, and your former way of life, which was being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

What this means to me:

I should get rid of, even throw off my former ways of life which were sinful and evil, they were corrupted by lust and deceitful desires.

Real change in my life will require me to make a choice. It's not enough to just dream of changing. It's not enough to desire change. In order for me to really change, I’ll need to make a decision. I must choose to change.

Change is intentional and it will only happen if I choose to change, because change will not happen accidentally. It requires a choice.

I tend to think that I’m waiting on God to change me, however what I’m learning is that God is waiting on me. He’s waiting on me to say, “Yes, Lord, I'm willing to make these changes in my life.”

I need to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If I’m going to grow, I’ll have to change, and change means I let go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things.

It's like swinging on a trapeze. The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then he has to reach out and grab the other one. At some point, he's got to let go of one to grab on to the other, or he's not going to make it to the other side. If he thinks he can hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he's going down.

I too can get stuck in the middle, and going down because I likely haven't let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. I have to let go of my old ways.

This verse reminds me to, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life ….” (Ephesians 4:22a NLT, second edition). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins, just let them go. The verse says to throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13b NIV).

This verse literally tells me to get rid (even throw off) the old way, it was corrupted and not useful. Today I thank you Jesus for showing me a different way to live that serves the needs of others and steers me away from hurting myself. Starting today I need to get rid of the way that I identify myself attaching meaning to position and status.  I need to review how God wants me to be and be that person. I need to choose to use my position as a servant, serving those around me.