How difficult is it for you to make changes in your life? For many of us, changes can be extremely difficult. This is especially the case when these changes require us to alter long-standing habits of living. Does it make a difference when we realize that proposed changes could have a significantly positive impact on our lives?
We all know that changes do occur for us throughout the course of our lives, many of which we have no control over. For example, we go from infancy into childhood, from preteen years into being a teenager, from young adults to adulthood to elderly individuals. Other changes are brought about through our own choices, such as who we have as friends, who we marry, the job we pursue, the location where we live, when we will retire, etc.
These changes, and many others we did not mention, should be quite familiar to us. That's the case because such changes all exist within the physical setting; they are things we can see and touch, things that are very real to us. However, as important as these physical things are--and I would agree that they are important to us--there is a realm which is far more important, one that should demand our strictest attention, and that is the spiritual realm.
In this study, we will endeavor to consult God's word in order to discuss examples of people who made dramatic changes in their lives, changes for the better. My hope is that many of the people we consider will be familiar to us, even people we can identify with personally. Ultimately, we should understand that making changes, even on those occasions when it will be quite painful, can result in a happier life, both now and forever! After all, God does know what's best for each of us, both now and forever!
My prayer is that we all come away with the conviction that change is possible and that we can change for the better.
