Romans 12:2 (NLT)
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
God tells us in John 10:10 that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth so that every person can live a more than abundant life. This is His Will for us. He wants us all to have a rich and satisfying life, filled to the brim and overflowing with good things. When we pray, understanding His desire to bless us is very important to having an attitude of faith.
When we earnestly pray to our Heavenly Father to receive a special blessing, He is so loving and so full of grace that He never says “no”. He helps us to gain faith and spiritual strength so that our desires are in line with His Will for our lives. An answer to prayer isn’t always immediate. Sometimes it takes a while for it to manifest in our natural world. This isn’t because God is making us wait. It’s because it takes us a while to figure out that we need to change in order to open the door for the blessing to come in.
Romans 12:2 tells us not to copy the behaviors and customs of this world. Impatience, entitlement, arrogance, denial, pessimism, doubt, and other negativity that have their roots in fear are all behaviors and attitudes that come from society and the world. These are not from God, and if we indulge them, they will weigh us down and keep us cut off from the blessings God wants to give us.
In Matthew 15, Jesus Christ set the Pharisees straight once again. They were always trying to trick him into saying something unlawful, but they were never successful in their attempts because there was no human being wiser on earth than Jesus. The Pharisees were religious Jewish leaders, and they had wrongfully manipulated the law. When Jesus called them out, they were offended, and when the disciples told him this, He said to them in Matthew 15:13-14(NLT), “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
Some of us are being led by worldly influences. We are not paying as much attention as we should to the things of God, instead, we are focused on fitting in and looking a certain way because that is what society likes and accepts. Neglecting to read and study God’s Word and to pray often for others, we can become disconnected from God’s purpose that we’re not seeing straight. The path to the blessing we desire can be right under our noses, but we’re blind to it because spiritually, our eyes are not wide open to God and His Word.
Numbers 24 tells us the record of a man named Balaam who was believed to have the spiritual power to speak to and hear from God. He entertained an offer from Balak to go against God’s people, but God forbid him. When Balaam realized that God would back Israel and be on their side, he said to our Heavenly Father in Numbers 24:3-4(NLT), “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, 4 the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open.” Balaam received a revelation from the Holy Spirit. He was blind before, but when he realized God’s awesome power and purpose, his eyes were opened.
For many of us, this is what we desperately need. Some aspect of our behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts are blinding us to the path that will lead us to the blessing we desire most. Giving God permission to swell our hearts and open our eyes to the changes we need to make will set our feet on solid ground. We should never give up on our desires, but we must surrender them and ourselves to the work of the Spirit. God tells us in Hebrews 12:1 to strip off every weight that slows us down, and this is exactly what we must do to become the change that God created us to be. This is what positions us to welcome the blessings we desire most.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“With the Blessing Comes Change”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.