I Can't Help It...or Can I?

We are products of our environment: the neighborhood we grew up in, the economic state we experienced, the school or church we attended, our family dynamics. These all influence who we become.

We are born with certain dispositions: joyful, pessimistic, daring, gritty. These all reside in us and can be nurtured and developed or hindered and suppressed.

Some people firmly believe that they cannot do anything about who and how they are because that was set in them through both nurture and nature. “My parents were horrible to me and now I have a problem with trusting others. I just can’t do it.” or “I know I can be harsh with people but this is how I am, I tell it like it is. I can’t change who I am.”

These are lies. You may have been raised or even abandoned by the worst of parents. You may very well be an aggressive communicator by nature. But this does not mean that you cannot trust and cannot learn to speak the truth with love. No matter what our circumstances were, we are now free to do the work of overcoming that truth and living out a new reality.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

When we accept Christ, we become new. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. We are not our past. We are new creatures who are blessed and highly favored. Further…

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

What are “all these things” that Paul is referring to? Glad you asked! His list includes trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Have you experienced any of these? I bet you have. I’m even willing to guess that you have experienced more than one. Just about anything that we could go through will fall into one of these categories. But what we learn here is that in Christ, we can conquer the effect of those things on our lives. We can conquer the anger that comes from abuse, the fear that comes from abandonment, the distrust from divorce – anything that comes from the terrible experiences we’ve endured. We can overcome and we can live triumphantly as the new creatures we are! Easy to do? NO! Not by a long-shot. But possible, with the power of the Holy Spirit on our side.

How do we begin this journey toward the realization of our newness? Pray—ask the Lord to walk and talk with you, and to show you what to do (Psalm 119:105). Seek wise counsel—there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11&15). This includes seeking professional help if needed. Surround yourself with godly people (Hebrews 10:25). And please, accept and believe that you are loved and forgiven and healed and new in Christ. You can be all that He designed you to be and live the abundant life that He promised (John 10:10).

 

If you don’t know Christ as your Savior and you are interested in learning how to become a new creature, follow this link: http://www.intouch.org/you/all-things-are-new/content/topic/how_do_i_accept_jesus_as_my_savior_all_things