When Change Is Not An Option! 6-8–25

Welcome to the word for the week. Change is one of the most difficult things you can do in your life. It sounds like something that easy on the surface. The new year comes in so you say you are going to change things. It could be habits, ways, things you say, what you do, and a host of other things. Everything sounds easy in December when you are thinking about those things and then when January arrives you realize the real struggle in front of you. Maybe one day you wake up and say you are going to change your eating habits. It may not be about losing weight but rather just eating more healthy. It sounds good until you realize the foods you have to stop eating and those that you need to start eating. You quickly realize that some of those things that are good for you definitely do not taste good to you. That is the real point this week. Do you have a willingness to do what does not feel good to you but will work for your good?

One of the areas that presents the greatest challenge is not acknowledging that you may actually enjoy what is not good for you more than you want to admit. This is where things get difficult because most people do not want to admit that what they may struggle with is also something that they actually enjoy. No, you may not want to continue in those things. You may absolutely mean it when you say you want to be free but the process is far different than what you think. The admission of guilt is also the beginning of being free. When one struggles in sin they must first admit that they are in that sin. It is only then that they can be free. When one wants to accomplish something great in their life they must first recognize the enjoyment of things that get in their way. No, it is not easy to look at these things and it is even more difficult to accept them. But, until you do then you can never be truly free. It is not about just saying that you enjoy something bad for you. It is about being honest about what keeps making you go back to it. You have to be aware of what that is before you can stay away.

Rome was not built in a day is a very popular saying. It was something that became great at one point and then it fell later on. It took time to build and it took time to fall. Both the building and the fall were obvious to everyone at some point. Everyone could see their success and everyone could see their failure. Nobody woke up one day and saw the city was built and no one woke up one day and saw when it fell. But at some point it was obvious. That is the point here. When you change rather that be for the good or the bad it is obvious. No, it does not scream look at me but people who really know you can see it. If you pick up good habits people can see that you are doing better things. If you pick up worse habits people can see your fall. Human nature tries to persuade us that we can hide it but the truth is we cannot hide anything. Your praise or lack of praise is seen. Your love for God or lack of that love is seen. Your excitement for God or lack of excitement is seen. Nothing is hidden.

For one to change they must realize the urgency. If you think you have time then you will simply stall and take your time. It is amazing to hear people talk about what they are going to do better tomorrow when the very next minute is not guaranteed to any of us. The best time to change is at that very moment. When you hear a word from God that convicts you that is the best moment to accept it and change. When you hear a word that say what you need to do that is the best time to say yes. When you hear a word that warns you of coming destruction that is the best time to stop what you are doing that is wrong. Learn how to seize the moment because you will not always have another chance. Learn how to surrender to God because you never know your next moment of need. Learn the power of doing something different. If a new thing is going to be done in you then it is going to take a new you to be able to handle it. Do not miss your moment at hand!

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you in His grace,
Bishop Carlos J. Lennon