“A tiger can’t change his stripes.” “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” When we get accustomed to acting or behaving a certain way, it can seem impossible to change. Bad habits come in many forms, including habits that could be potentially hurtful and dangerous to ourselves and the people we love. When we allow those bad habits to control our lives, they become addictions. We can easily be consumed by addictions: money, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, and the list goes on and on. There are so many opportunities to lose control and become someone we don’t even recognize anymore.
If you are not one of these people, consider yourself lucky but, chances are, you have someone in your life who is struggling with addiction. Anyone who has been hurt by someone with an addiction would be the first to say that it is impossible for that person to change. For instance, if you have ever been cheated on in a relationship, it is hard to believe that a cheater won’t always be a cheater.
Bad habits. Addictions. They are ingrained into our lives but it IS possible to change. The ability to change, however, requires discipline, self-control, and a whole lot of direction and guidance from God. The good news is: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!
Luke 18:27: “He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”
Even if you have been blessed with unwavering values and an impenetrable sense of self, there is still an opportunity for sin to sneak in and take control. None of us are without sin. It is for this very reason that we need God. God can pull us through, lift us up, and carry us out of any hole that we fall into.
When we feel ourselves slipping away and losing control, we may not realize that we have a problem. Unfortunately, many people will be observing the destructive behaviors and may decide to hold it against us. We will be judged and even ridiculed for our mistakes. The only benefit to this is that sometimes that judgement helps us realize that we need to make a change. Or, it isn’t until we hit rock bottom for it to finally sink in that we can’t keep living in the world.
God does not want His children to hurt themselves. There is no telling how long a person will be held captive by addiction. They may wander as if lost in the wilderness, but God has the power to rescue them.
Isaiah 43:16-19: “This is what the Lord says – He who made it through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.'”
God does not like to see us wandering and lost, Therefore, He will always provide a path to return back to His loving arms, but we have to want to return home. Like the prodigal son, the father did not go searching for his son. The father had faith that his son would return home and he allowed his son to make his own choices. God does not stifle us from making bad decisions and, even if He did, we would find a way to rebel. We are naturally rebellious children who want to do things our way and, eventually, if we are lucky, we realize that we were wrong.
In order to change, we have to make the first step to recovery. We have to want to change. We have to ask God to take the wheel and help us make the U-turn, away from our path of destruction.
Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
We need to pay no attention to the naysayers and the pessimists who doubt our desire or ability to make a new start. We are renewed in Christ Jesus. We have faith that God can do the impossible and turn our lives around. He has the power to make us new. We have been forgiven for all of our sins: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is never too late to make a change as long as we follow God. We have to meditate on His Word so that we know how to live our lives according to His perfect plan. It will be an adjustment and there will be both good days and bad days, but we can find comfort knowing that we are not alone. Both God and other Christian brothers and sisters will celebrate in our rebirth and our triumphant return to the family of God. We can do all things through Christ who strengths us.
Thank you, Lord, for new beginnings. Thank you for allowing us to make a change and come back home. Thank you for making the impossible possible. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for putting people into our lives to hold us accountable so we are able to see the error of our ways. Thank you for never failing us. Amen. – Katie Ann
Hope Seekers - Seeking God's Hope in All Things 