“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”Ephesians 4:22 (NLT)
Change requires making choices. It’s not enough to dream of changing. It’s not enough to desire change. To change, you need to make a decision. You must choose to change.
Change is intentional. Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be less in debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be?
I can tell you the answer right now: These changes will only happen if you choose to change—because change doesn’t happen accidentally.
Change requires a choice.
A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God to change us. No! God is waiting on you. He’s waiting on you to say, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing to make these changes.”
You will need to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change. There is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change. And change means you let go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things.
It’s like swinging on a trapeze. The trapeze artist swings out on one bar and then has to reach out and grab the other one. At some point, he’s got to let go of the first one in order to grab the next one, or he won’t make it to the other side. If he tries to hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he will fall.
Some of you are stuck in the middle, and you’re falling because you haven’t let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. You have to let go of your old ways.
The Bible says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins in your life—let them go. Throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13 NIV).
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
Discover God’s purpose for your life—and help someone else do the same.
Pastor Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life has transformed millions of lives—and this expanded edition makes it even easier to grow spiritually.
Here’s what you’ll discover inside:
Video teaching from Pastor Rick at the start and end of every chapter.
End-of-chapter prompts to help you think more deeply about your purpose.
Two powerful bonus chapters addressing the biggest barriers to living a purpose driven life.
This book is an incredible resource for your own spiritual growth—and gifting it to someone is a powerful and effective way to introduce someone you love to Jesus.
So request your copy today, for yourself or someone you care about, as our thanks for your gift. And thank you for your partnership.
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of “current offer” materials you received from Daily Hope.
