Lord, change me!

Have you ever prayed that prayer? I have, and I do!

It seems like the older we get, the greater our desire, the greater our awareness of our need for change becomes. Overcoming our anxieties, our desire for control, and our self-centeredness are some of the day-to-day challenges we face.

What we need is not just superficial change, but supernatural character change!

I have heard life compared to trying to run up a down escalator. The only way to make progress is by running faster than the speed of the downward moving steps. That is hard, breathless, exhausting work! To stop for even one minute means losing precious ground.

This is a picture of the natural condition of the world and of our lives. There is a principle at work in our world that is a principle of decay.

Nothing grows in an untended field except weeds. Left to ourselves, we never hold our ground, whether it is our tennis game, our piano playing, or our flower gardens. It all requires effort and hard work. Unfortunately, time leads to decay.

So how can I change as a Christian woman? Sometimes, around our house, we say, “People change . . . but not all that much!” We laugh about it, but it is true.

Can the hardened become tender?

Can the self-absorbed become a giver?

Can the worrier learn to trust?

Can the wimpy become courageous?

We all need to grow. And thank God the Bible has so much to say about this.

In John 15, we read about the principle of spiritual growth. Not only is it not impossible, it is inevitable for those of us who are part of Christ!

John 15:5 tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

This is the last of the great “I am” statements of Jesus. And there is no greater picture in all of Scripture of our intimate relationship with the Lord than this one.

We are not merely followers of the teachings of Christ; we are part of Christ Himself. His life is flowing into our lives, and His life-giving strength is ours, so that we may grow and change for good!

2 Peter 1:3-4 tells us this clearly:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Hallelujah! His divine power is ours, and that is everything we need to escape the downward escalator! But notice that the means for this is personal knowledge of Him.

Do you know Him personally? We may know all about Him, and we may be able to quote Bible verses all day long, but personal knowledge of God isn’t something that we can pick up at the local Christian bookstore. Nor does it come by merely listening to sermons or attending Bible studies. It comes through personal connectedness with our Savior.

“I am the vine and you are the branches . . . ”

Are you drawing on the life source of God Himself? If not, you are still running up that down escalator!