The Power to Change!

A sneaky plot of God’s enemy has infiltrated Christian outreaches and services. It is very subtle. It is disguised as a good thing, which in some cases could be a good thing. When the Spirit of God is present, people feel a shift in the atmosphere. Some will praise God. Others will feel convicted. A few will resist and try to ignore the tug in their hearts. The leaders will have an altar call and people will go down to pray. But have you ever noticed that you see few changes in people’s lives? It is not that they don’t want to change or aren’t sincere. So, why are there no changes?

I was reading Louie Giglio’s book, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table. He brought up a great point about the difference between real change by surrendering to God and temporary change through rededication or modern repentance. It is a wonderful book that brings out different mindsets the church has which cause us to stumble in our walk with God. To understand why we aren’t seeing changes, we need to understand the differences between repentance, rededication and surrender.

Repentance in our modern understanding means that a person feels sorry for something they did or for their shortcomings. Originally, in Greek, the term for repentance is “metanoia,” which means a change of mind or a departure from one’s outlook and behavior. It emphasizes an inner decision to turn from one path towards a new way of living.

Per Merriam-Webster definition: “Rededication refers to the act of dedicating someone or something again, often involving a commitment to a cause or purpose anew.”

The resource Bible Hub defines surrender this way. “Surrender, in a biblical context, refers to yielding or submitting to the authority and will of God, which involves relinquishing personal control and trusting in God’s sovereignty. It emphasizes obedience, humility, and faith, as seen in various scriptures that encourage believers to submit to God’s will in their lives.”

Repentance and rededication are usually an emotional response to the presence of God. It causes us to want to change. We decided to change and then walked away unchanged. Why? It is because we depend on our own strength to change! I was thinking about some things in my life that I have over and over made a decision to change. Losing weight, eating right and exercise are repeating patterns in this ongoing saga. I study health, exercise and new recipes and even make a few changes, but the old habits win most of the time.

Breaking the Cycles of Failure!

Rededication creates a cycle of failure when our strength fails. That causes hopelessness that says nothing is going to change. Our connection with God becomes weaker because hopelessness replaces faith in God. This cuts you off from having your needs met. Love, understanding, worth, significance, and purpose drift father away. Hopelessness causes us to retreat and hide which cuts off help from others. Community is one of the places we get support.

When I read Louie’s book, he explained how surrender is letting God take over an area in your life, which creates lasting change. It was like a slap on the head, like Gibbs gave Tony in the CBS show NCIS. I had learned to surrender certain things to God but never my eating and exercise. I was still trying to make changes in my own strength. God had given me a vision of me floating in the ocean. When I asked God what this meant He revealed that the ocean represented God was in control. That I had let go of trying to direct my life. Since I couldn’t see the shoreline or where I was in the ocean this meant I had no control to direct my path. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t take back control because I am not perfect, but my heart is willing which allows God to direct my steps.

Surrendering is taking our hands off the failures and problems and gives them to God. It is admitting you are powerless to change without God. Surrender allows you to tap into God’s power to change. Your part is to walk out what God shows you. This is the path to victory. The problem with surrendering is we don’t want to let go of our control. It is scary because of all the past pain and hurts.

Surrendering changes the downward spiral of destruction. It causes you to walk in an upward spiral to victory. Surrendering is a partnership with God. It God’s wisdom and power being release to you as you walk out, in faith, this new path of trust.

Prayer

Help Lord! I am willing to change but now I understand I haven’t given these things over to Your total control. I keep grabbing the steering wheel when I don’t like the direction You are leading me to take. Forgive me for not trusting You. Help me to let go of control. I am willing to be willing which means I want You in control of my life, but You have to help me give you control. Thank You for not giving up on me. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for guiding, correcting, and empowering me to walk out Your best path for my destiny. Thank you, Jesus, for being my Shepherd, Lord, and Best Friend. Lead me and teach me to follow you even through the dark valleys of life.

Scriptures

1 Corinthians 10:12 -13, Hebrews 11:1, and Psalms 23

References

Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table © 2021 Louie Giglio (https://passioncitychurch.com/leadership/)

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/)

Bible Hub has an app for your phone, or you can use the site on your computer. (https://biblehub.com/)