I don’t doubt that your personal history is filled with failed attempts to change. You’re human, after all. So am I.
We didn’t really mean it when we said, “I’ll never touch alcohol again.” Who have we become?
The harsh words lashing out at our children caught us, stopped us in our tracks, and we fell to our knees in shame. We know we need to work on this.
God doesn’t give a spirit of fear, so why are we so consumed with worry?
The bondage to food is too strong to break. The obsession with our appearance controls us. The erotic playfulness of that flirty friend who isn’t our spouse turns us on—we love it and hate it.
“Oh, God, how many times have I failed. Change is hopeless.”
Yes. And no. Yes, we have failed. No, change is not hopeless. It just doesn’t always happen perfectly, completely, or quickly.
And let me encourage you even more with this: the very fact that you are concerned about this means there is more hope than you think. It means that the voice of God is speaking to you, calling you from sin, urging you to repent. You’re not resisting, you’re just skeptical of yourself.
Good! Just don’t be skeptical of God.
“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4,5).
There is hope! God is your Savior. He has paid for your forgiveness by the death of Jesus Christ. That’s the truth. You also want to change. That’s also the truth.
God will teach you. “He instructs sinners” (Psalm 25:8). God doesn’t wait for you to get it right. He meets you where you’re at and asks you if you want help. Say yes. Give him time. Be open to him asking something that it takes deep trust for you to do. “The ways of the Lord are loving and faithful” (Psalm 25:10).
PRAYER: Dear God my Savior, I want to change, but I can’t. You believe I can, and teach me even as a sinner who can’t get it right. You forgive me. You love me. I’ll try again. And I’ll be patient with other sinners, even as you are patient with me. Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Make time for 15-20 minutes of meditation. Sit down with Psalm 25 and read through it slowly. Think about some changes you need to make, but haven’t done so. Inject your own prayers and weave them into the words of Psalm 25 to make it personal. God is listening. You will be speaking his very words, along with yours, and he will answer.
