Start Your New Life Today (15 page)
Many people struggle over trying to do the right thing. One woman told me she had been a real gossip—not that her words were always evil, but she just liked to talk. It was as if she felt compelled to be the first person to know anything and then to pass it on as quickly as possible. She struggled with holding back or saying less, and it frequently ended up causing trouble.
My advice to her was, “Until you change your way of thinking, you won’t be free.” Then I said I would be glad to pray for her, but added, “You must be accountable.”
She interrupted me and quickly said, “I am—and I will be.” I could tell she didn’t really hear me so I said, “No, you haven’t heard me. You want deliverance from all the gossip, but you don’t want to make any changes in your thinking. It just doesn’t work that way. You need deliverance in your mind; then your words and actions will change.”
She resisted my words, but she did ask me to pray for her, which I did. When I finished, she began to cry. “As you prayed, I understood. God showed me that the root of my problem is how insignificant and unimportant I feel. When I’m the first to pass on information, it makes me feel good—at least for a while—and important.”
She had to shift her thinking and learn to accept that she was worthwhile and loved by God just for being who she was. Once she learned to change her way of thinking—and she did over the course of weeks—she no longer had these problems with her tongue.
It’s impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an attitude adjustment, which means we first must change the way we think.
I like the way Paul contrasted the old nature with the renewed mind. In Ephesians 4:22–24, he admonishes his readers: “Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life. . . . And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature.” Another translation puts it this way: “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking, and make you into a new person . . .” (vv. 23–24
CEV
).
It’s impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an attitude adjustment, which means we first must change the way we think.
There it is: Let the Holy Spirit change your way of thinking. That’s the only way you can make permanent changes in your life.
Be Thankful—Always
S
omeone once told me there are more exhortations in the Bible to praise God than there are of any other kind. I don’t know if that’s true, but it ought to be. When our minds flow with thanksgiving and praise, we develop immunity to the devil’s infectious ways.
If we complain or grumble, the opposite is true. The more we complain, the worse life gets, the more victorious the devil becomes, and the more defeated we feel. It is interesting to note as we study the history of the nation of Israel, this kind of negative attitude was the major problem causing them to wander in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. We may call it by many names, but God called it unbelief.
God’s attitude is if His people really believe Him and continue to have faith in Him, then no matter what happens in life they will know He is big enough to handle it and to make it work out for their good. Joy and peace are found in believing, not in murmuring, grumbling, finding faults, or complaining. If we are going to live in victory, praise has to be one of our major weapons. A wise pastor once told me, “Praise fills the heaven and the earth with God’s presence and drives away the darkness. So if you want to live in the sunshine, praise the Lord.”
When good things happen to us, most of us turn to praise. It’s easy to lift our hands and our voices when God answers our prayers and delivers us from problems. It’s not always easy when things go wrong or we have to wait for an answer. What do we do when we’re sick or lose our jobs or people talk against us? How do we fill our minds with joyful thanksgiving in the midst of those situations?
Two verses give us options. First Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will],” and Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!”
The negative option is to take the attitude of Job’s wife, who was so shaken up by the loss of her children and their possessions that she cried out, “Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die!” (Job 2:9).
Job answered with great wisdom: “You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature?” (v. 10). Job understood a righteous life doesn’t mean everything always runs smoothly and only blessings fall on top of blessings.
We have two positive options open to us. Most of us can practice the first, but not all of us can accept the second. The first is to praise God
in spite of
what’s going on in our lives. Or another way to say that is in the midst of our troubles and hardships, we can choose to look for things that are not wrong and rejoice over them. It may take effort, but if we can turn our eyes away from the immediate problems, we can see that everything in life isn’t bad. We can also rejoice because God has faithfully taken us through the turmoil of the past, and we can rejoice and know He will do the same thing again.
God is not the Author of our troubles, but He may well use them to help us become better people.
The second option when circumstances are difficult is to ask, “God, what can I learn from this? What do You want to teach me through this so I can be closer to You and rejoice more fully in Your goodness?” That’s not an easy question, and the answers are often even harder. God is not the Author of our troubles, but He may well use them to help us become better people.
Sometimes we only grasp the important lessons in our lives when we fall flat on our faces. The psalmist says: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now Your word do I keep [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]” (Psalm 119:67). It isn’t that God is out to hurt us, but God loves us enough to stop us and hopefully wake us up to how wrong we are living. I often think of the young man we call the Prodigal Son in the Bible. He wanted to have his inheritance early but then wasted the entire thing. He ended up with a job feeding hogs and had to eat their food. It wasn’t long before he came to his senses and realized he needed to go home to his father and beg for forgiveness. His trouble finally caused him to realize the error of his ways.
Throughout my many years in ministry, I’ve heard stories from people who had wonderful jobs or great ministries or made a great deal of money—and then their lives fell apart. They were people who had things but not God. One man—someone who was once a millionaire—came to our meetings after he spent three years in prison. The first words out of his mouth were, “I’m glad I was convicted and sent to prison. I had run from God for a long time. The Lord finally got my attention when someone gave me a copy of Joyce Meyer’s book
Healing the Brokenhearted
while I was in prison.”
Not everyone can rejoice and give thanks for their suffering, but we can all give thanks in the midst of it. God has our well-being in mind and we can trust that whatever happens in life He will work out for good if we continue loving and serving Him (see Romans 8:28).
Tips for Being Thankful
A
ll of us know we need to be thankful. God tells us to do so, and we also know from our own experience that once we seriously start praising God, our burdens and our troubles seem to weigh less heavily on our shoulders.
That is part of the power of being thankful. As we pause to give thanks to God for what is good in our lives, we also appreciate what we have. I believe God wants us to be grateful people—people who are filled with gratitude not only toward God but also toward other people. That’s my first tip: when someone does anything nice for you, let that person know you appreciate it.
God wants us to be grateful people— people who are filled with gratitude not only toward God but also toward other people.
One day I was going into an office building, and a man standing nearby opened the door for me. I thanked him and smiled. “You’re the fifth person I’ve held the door for,” he said, “and you’re the first one to smile and the second to thank me.”
I thanked him a second time. Afterward, I thought how much we take others for granted, even when they do such simple things as open a door for a stranger.
Instead of accepting that as the way things are, we can develop a thankful mind. Did your bus arrive on time today? If so, did you thank the driver? When you ate at the restaurant, did you thank the server for filling your coffee cup a second time without being asked? I could go on and on, but the point I want to make is: develop an attitude of gratitude toward the people in your life.
Here’s another tip: appreciate your family members, especially the person to whom you’re married. Even though Dave and I have been married a long time, I still tell him I appreciate him. He’s patient with me and thoughtful. Just those few words of thanks are a great way to develop a thankful mind and heart. Showing appreciation is one of the best ways to improve relationships.
When you express appreciation, it’s good for the other person to hear the words, but also remember it releases joy in you. You enrich both your life and another person’s life, even by appreciating small things.
Another thing you can do is meditate daily on things for which you can be thankful. I heard of one man who won’t get out of bed in the morning until he has thanked God for at least ten things. He counts them on his fingers, and they’re small things really, such as having a reliable car to drive, being a member of an exciting Sunday school class, or just being thankful he’s healthy. I often thank God for having hot water. I really enjoy taking a hot bath and I am aware that multitudes of people in the world don’t even have clean water to drink, let alone the simple joy of sitting in a bathtub filled with hot water.
The man I mentioned also has the habit prior to going to sleep of focusing on at least three things that went well that day. He relives those three positive things. For him, it can be as simple as his supervisor telling him what a good job he did on a project or an affirming e-mail from a friend.
Here’s another tip: Be thankful for the honesty in other people. No one likes to hear negative things, but sometimes you need to hear them. Of course, they may momentarily hurt your feelings, but you still can learn and grow from the experience.
I have a friend who says, “Only two people will tell you the truth about yourself: someone who’s angry at you and someone who loves you very much.” God uses both types of people in our lives.
So be thankful for people who tell you the truth about yourself, even if it’s not what you want to hear. When you hear the truth—especially something of which you’re not aware, you can change. And after you’ve changed, isn’t that just one more thing for which you can be thankful?
The things to be thankful for are really too many to count, but sadly we miss many of them simply because we don’t purposely look for them. This is a good time to decide to form a new habit of being extremely thankful and saying so.
Jesus Came to Set You Free
T
he Bible says Jesus came to open prison doors, open blinded eyes, and set the captives free (see Isaiah 61:1). When it speaks of blind eyes it is not only speaking of those physically blind. Jesus did heal those who had no natural sight, but He also wants to open our eyes to what He has provided for us, that which we may be missing through lack of knowledge. I attended church regularly for many years without ever hearing Jesus wanted to set me free from my past and other things that kept me in a prison of defeat and discouragement. I heard Jesus died for my sins and because of Him I could be forgiven and have the hope of heaven, but I did not hear anything that was helping me live my daily life in victory.
What kind of bondages do you have in your life? Are you frustrated, confused, unhappy, or discontent with yourself and your life? Do you experience guilt, condemnation, fear or worry, and anxiety? If so, you need to hear the good news that Jesus came to help you realize those prison doors have been opened by Him and you are free to walk out and begin a new life lived with and for Him.
It is good to look forward to heaven, but what about right now? Are you enjoying your life now? If not, you need to know it is God’s will for you to do so. Jesus said He came that we might have and enjoy life abundantly (see John 10:10).
I want to encourage you to make a decision that you will have and enjoy everything Jesus died to give you. Press past the things holding you in bondage to the glorious life of freedom available to you right now.
I lived for many years as a Christian still held in bondage to the pain of my past. I had a bitter attitude, self-pity, resentment, and many other negative emotions. These things were actually my prison. We do not have to be in a physical prison to be in prison. Mental and emotional prisons may indeed be worse than a physical one. People may be free to move about and go here and there, but if they are continually tormented in their souls they are not truly free.
Mental and emotional prisons may indeed be worse than a physical one. A person may be free to move about and go here and there, but if they are continually tormented in their soul they are not truly free.
As I studied God’s Word and began to learn that Jesus came to set me free from all those tormenting things, and that my past had no power over my future, I truly began to enjoy each day of my life.
Emotional and mental freedom may be a new thought for you. Perhaps you have passively put up with a tormented soul, but I am announcing to you that Jesus died to set you completely free. He has opened all your prison doors, and as soon as you realize it you will be able to take His hand and walk out into a new and glorious life.