Conviction needed
Change without conviction can bring sorrow
Often when we have a certain problem we will make certain outward changes to try to fix the problem.
The question is, ‘how long do we keep doing the right thing before something changes?’
My answer is, ‘You don’t do the right thing for the reason of changing something around you, but you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.’
Say your spouse is not happy with you and you attempt to change. I know from counseling that it’s possible for one person to make all the changes and the other person still not get happy. In these cases both will become more and more miserable.
Why is that? Making outward changes without an inward conviction that it’s right for you to do makes a war where you were trying to bring peace.
Long lasting change has to agree with how you feel on the inside or it will only be short lived. All outward change that you attempt to do without it lining up with how you feel on the inside creates a great internal frustration.
The Bible is clear that an abundant life in God is meant to be lived from the inside out. It’s having the light of Christ in you that pierces the darkness around you. It’s Christ in you that gives you a present peace and the eternal hope of glory.
We all find our identity within the borders of what we believe is right and wrong. When we no longer set borders within our home or within our nation, we rob our children of the bounders that they need to define who they are.
Proverbs 14:24 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Without knowing what’s the right thing to do, you can never become the right person you want to be.
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no revelation (of right and wrong), the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.”
The book of Judges concludes with this thought. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
When you have no leader to show the right way, no parent to set bounders, or no government to give good Godly moral instructions, the people in that place will do whatever they feel is right in their eyes to do. History proves where feelings rule confusion and chaos follows.
Before people will accept a lie as fact, the truth will always need to be redefined. When you add a lie to truth you will be deceived. When you add truth to truth you will find freedom.
The serpent in the Garden of Eden asked Eve, ‘what’s the problem with eating from the tree in the middle of the Garden.’ She said, ‘if we ate it we will die.’ (true)
Genesis 3:4 “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” (That’s a lie)
The truth she knew was now challenged by a lie she heard and she allowed the lie to lower her standards and she ate the fruit and we have all been dying ever since.
I ask people to go to church not because it suddenly changes everything but it’s the place where truth is proclaimed and as you accept the truth, the truth shall set you free. There are many wonderful churches in our community where you will experience love, joy, peace, and hope from the Lord Jesus. God bless you all.