By Waylon Bailey
Can I change my disposition?
I’m sure you’ve heard someone protest how they cannot change. Usually, they say something like this. “You have to take me the way I am. I can’t change. That just the way I am.”
Is that true? Is it impossible to change? Are we destined for impatience, frustration, anger, and bitterness?
Or, is it possible that God can do in my life what seems impossible to me?
The Bible gives every indication that you are not stuck with the same old way that you’ve always been.
What does the Bible say about change?
First, the Bible is clear that to be “in Christ“ means to be a new creation. Being saved isn’t about trying harder or reforming our image. To be in Christ is to be made new. “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old passed away; behold, new things have come“ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Second, the Bible says that we have been given the Spirit of Jesus to work within us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within us.
When you think about that power, you must say, “I do not have to be the way I have always been.”
Third, God produces fruit in the life of a Christian. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control“ (Galatians 5:22-23).
Of this great work Paul says, “Against such there is no law“ (Galatians 5:23). It’s as if Paul asks, “Who in their right mind would pass a law against such wonderful characteristics?“
Finally, our human experience in Christ makes it very clear that we are not doomed to impatience, resentment, and frustration. We can change, and God wants to change us. When we open our lives to Him and give Him control, we begin to see magnificent changes within us.
May God work in you to accomplish His purpose and may He use the changes in your life to help other people know Him.
Waylon Bailey is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington. This editorial first appeared on his devotional blog, which can be subscribed to by clicking here.
