One of the keys to being ready to change can be found in the parable of the prodigal son. If you remember the story, a very wealthy man had two sons. The younger son asked for his inheritance, took it, left home and squandered it all on lascivious living. He ended up working for a pig farmer and found himself living in a pigsty eating slop. Talk about being in need of a change, eh?
When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, at home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! Luke 15:17 (NLT)
Coming to your senses is a big key. Some people use the expressions “being sick and tired of being sick and tired” and “being at the end of my rope”. It means facing reality head-on and reaching a point where you won’t take it any longer. The pain of where you are is too great to continue in that place. The consequences of your choices are coming to bear and they are very painful.
The world will change for the better when people decide they are sick and tired of being sick and tired of they way the world is, and decide to change themselves. Sidney Madwed American author, speaker
Unless the pain of where you are is greater than the pain of change, you will never change. Bishop Mark Kariuki Kenyan minister
Can you come to your senses by your own effort or is it done by divine appointment? I believe it is either/or and it can be both. I believe you can get to the place of change out of your own frustration, or God can divinely meet you in your dire circumstances. However, God will not make the final choice for you.
For example, the Apostle Paul when he was still Saul was a persecutor and torturer of Christians. God met him in a very dramatic way. He threw Saul off his donkey and the sky went tremendously bright, so bright Saul was blinded! God asked him why he was persecuting Him. Saul asked God what He wanted him to do. Even though it was most definitely a divine appointment, Saul still had the choice to make the change to obey and to become Paul. Saul could have said no. You can read the entire story in Acts chapter nine.
You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you are motivated to change. Jesus didn’t have to sin to know to avoid it. You don’t have to wait until the doctor tells you that you have diabetes and high blood pressure before you choose to take decisive action with your health. You don’t have to go broke before you confront your fears, stop procrastinating and get your act together. You don’t have to let it get to the point of losing your home before you say “Whoa! I’ve got to make some strong choices here and do it now!” You don’t have to wait until you get a diagnosis of lung cancer to choose to quit smoking. You don’t have to wait until your estranged loved one is on his deathbed before you make the effort to reconcile.
However, some “come to your senses” awakenings – aka “aha moments” – don’t seem to kick in the catalyst needed make the decisive decision, once and for all, to change. I have long wondered about this. I’ve come to realize it fully depends on how fed up you become. How badly do you want it? It infuriates people to hear that, but it is because it means we have to own up, take responsibility and make the necessary change. As humans we naturally take the path of least resistance; we have to fight to go in a different direction.
My dad told me of a time he was at a hospital and saw men who had had laryngectomies, leaving a stoma in the throat region and the inability to talk without an instrument called a voice prosthesis. These men were so entrenched in their smoking habit they would smoke holding the cigarette up to the stoma! That is desperate and sad, and totally preventable. It was in their power not to smoke the day they lit the first cigarette. It was in their power not to smoke any longer the day they were diagnosed with cancer. It is in their power now to choose to stop smoking. The seeds they’ve sown by smoking have literally produced a harvest of death.
The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all. Origen (185-254) Christian scholar, philosopher
A woman I know is so painfully shy she physically shakes if she has to speak in public, even just to stand up and say her name. This becomes a problem because she is a very talented businesswoman and needs to network with other business owners to build her business. I took her under my wing and introduced her to several business networking groups, trying to get her to face her fear, and hoping she would gradually get used to standing up and saying “Hi, my name is Joan. I am the owner of XYZ Enterprises.” She never did get used to it, and, in the end, chose not to participate in any marketing that involved her having to speak in public. To say her business unnecessarily suffered is an understatement. She is receiving the harvest of fear of failure. Sadly, she is choosing it. She could choose to face her fear head-on and change.
You can run from your dreams in fear or run to your dreams in faith! Tina Downey author, founder of My Success Box® www.MySuccessBox.com
A Christian lady I know has diabetes and is very overweight. She prays daily for healing. Each morning she tells herself, “Today is the day God will heal me!” Yet, when we go out for lunch she has the humongous bacon burger and chili fries. She always has dessert and a regular sugar-laden cola drink. All the while she is expecting God to heal her. Somewhere there is a disconnect, don’t you think?
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)
Are you in a place of Divine Discontent? Are you ready to make the needed changes in your life? I urge you to ask God to help you come to your senses today. It won’t hurt as much if you do it now – sooner is better than later!
Keep the faith!
Maria Costadini
My Success Box
Terri.com