New Year, New You

A new year brings about desires to change and become a better you. However, most new year's resolutions don't last past the 1st week of January! Why do we have such good intentions, but fail miserably year after year? Usually we fail because change is hard. Change requires work and intention. It takes time and effort dedicated to doing something you haven't been doing. When you want to lose weight, you have to say no to foods you like. When you want to cut your spending, it requires sacrificing things you enjoy. When you want your marriage to improve, you have to take steps that are uncomfortable. It's not a mystery why we don't change. If it were easy, we wouldn't need to change because we would have already done it.

So, how do can we make changes in our lives successfully? The only way to effectively change your life is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our human efforts aren't enough to make lasting change. Our best intentions fall short over and over again. However, when we surrender our lives and our plans to God, He will meet us there and do what we can't.

If you have experienced God's miraculous power at work in your life before, you understand. If you have never experienced life change through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is hard to explain how it works. You really have to experience it to understand. In order to experience God, you have to spend time with him through prayer and reading His Word. The Bible instructs us to seek God in order to know Him and experience Him. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus ends his instructions on how to not be anxious by saying, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." In the following chapter of Matthew, Jesus gives more direction on how to receive from God. He states, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

Jesus is telling us that in order to receive from God, you must take action. First, you must ask. Share your desires with God. He wants to have a personal relationship with you in which you share your heart. After you ask, you must seek. Seek is a verb meaning to find or to desire or obtain something. Seeking God means you are looking for Him and what He desires for you. You can seek Him through His Word or you can simply acknowledge Him by admiring His creation, which is all around you. After you seek, you must knock. God wants to know you are coming to Him. He wants you to depend on Him and not yourself.

This year can be different! In order for something to be different, you have to do something different. The saying, "Nothing changes if nothings changes." seems so obvious, yet we often expect our lives to change while we continue to make the same decisions day after day. If you need something to change in your life this year, tell God about it! Ask, seek, and knock and see what He does in your life.

If this seems too hard for you, Live Transformed Ministry would love to come alongside you and help you. Contact us and let us know how we can help you!

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