“But if you say so” has been an invitation to change.
Are you ready for that change?
My friend, Holley Gerth, says this:
God made it so that change is an invitation to trust him. It is one of the biggest faith and intimacy builders that we have. ~ (From her book, You’re Going to Be Okay)
If I could describe the past four weeks, the word that comes to mind is trust.
Simon trusted Jesus, reluctantly at first.
That led him to discover who Jesus is, and he also discovered himself in the process.
Is change easy? Umm, no.
I wish it were, but then perhaps there’d be little value found in that change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that when we unite with Jesus, we’re a new creation.
This isn’t just about our first encounter with Him. We become new in over and over as as we walk with Him.
Like layers.
Peeling away to reveal one more time how knowing Jesus transforms us.
I love how The Message says it.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
So, what is required of any of us as we change?
A response.
Isn’t that simple?
But this is where it gets tricky.
Ignoring it is a response. Maybe you’ve been waiting to say yes to change when you’ve got it all figured out.
My friend Holley says, “Change always costs us. There’s simply no way around it. But here’s the encouraging part: we can move through change and say either, “What a waste” or “That was so worth it.”
As Jesus speaks to your heart, even if it doesn’t make totally make sense yet, know that He’s seeing something of eternal value.
It’s so worth it.
Suzie
As we end this study, share your response to what you sense God speaking to you.
Let’s pray together about that.
Though today is the last day of this 4-week study, don’t worry. We’ll begin a new online Bible study the first week of July.
It’s going to be called You and God.
I hope you’ll tell others about it.
Between now and then, I’ll still be here a couple of days a week.
See you right here tomorrow.
Suzie,
I love this message of “We become new in over and over as as we walk with Him. Like layers.” So many times I become impatient, tired or weary and think “Lord, I’ve tried to obey and be faithful, but when are my circumstances going to change?” Faithfulness is a journey, and I need to be constantly refreshing myself through prayer, Bible study, studies like these and community with other believers. Your message today reminded me of some of my “go-to” verses from Lamentations 3:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Thank you for this study, Suzie. I will look forward to the study in July!
I’m ready to change . . . especially in my attitude towards my husband. I want to be his encourager and to cheer him on. Working in a business with my husband has its challenging days. Today I wanted to vent my frustration about something. Instead, after he said something negative, I just sat and quietly prayed. “Holy Spirit, show me a new pattern in my head. Rewire my brain.” I sat quietly and then gave a quiet response. We prayed together and got on the same page. God showed up. It was cool.
I am so ready to change. Ready to reset the triggers in my mind that remind me of the lies I believed for so long and let God replace them with the triggers that unleash His truths!
I enjoyed the the devotional I did not exprience it for myself but my daugther did and i saw the disappointment from my children all the time that their father wasn’t there.
Suzie and Holley, I love the way you speak to my heart about change and transformation, transforming our minds, our hearts, our very souls. Just this morning I read in Matthew 5:33-37 “All you need is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’…” Change is a journey with my Lord that begins with a simple response “Yes” in faith and trust! God will do the rest. The Holy Spirit is leading us through all change through His great gifts of Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Wisdom, Fortitude, Piety. He is the Sanctifier…I pray that He leads me to continual awareness that I am always in the Presence of my Lord God!