repentance |rɪˈpɛnt(ə)ns| noun [ mass noun ]the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse: each person who turns to God in genuine repentance and faith will be saved.

Do you ever feel “stuck” in a certain area of your life?

You may feel stuck in a career you chose, and no longer love. Maybe you feel like you can’t move forward from a past relationship that ended months or years ago. Or maybe you just feel stuck trying to meet your weight or exercise goals, and can’t seem to make any progress.

We often try to use sheer willpower to produce change in our lives. We promise ourselves that we will eat better, that we won’t stalk an ex’s Instagram page or that we will get up an extra 30 minutes early each day to exercise. (It’s mid-August… how are your 2017 New Year’s Resolutions going?? Ha. Mine too…)

I’ve learned, over the years, that the key to positive change actually lies in a shift in mindset and habitual pattern. More simply put, by changing the way you think.

Our willpower can start strong in January, when our adrenaline and determination are running high, but what happens mid-February through March is this little thing we call–life. If we don’t deal with the root cause of our internal habits and patterns, then we will quickly revert to our old way of living our lives–every single year (no matter how determined we are to meet our resolutions!).

The Bible calls this thought change, repentance. In the Greek, repentance means, “to change your mind”. When we make the decision to follow Christ, we often describe our decision as “a call to repentance” from our former way of living. We are changing our minds, and following a new way of life. We repent (or change) from our old habits and lifestyle. When we repent, we change the way we think by accepting God’s thoughts of us as our foundational truth.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

We all know how powerful the mind and our thought life can be. Rick Warren once said, “The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act, and the way you act determines the outcome of your life.” Everything we do in life hinges on our thoughts and mindset!

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

I want to challenge you to adopt God’s way of thinking about yourself and your life. God’s truth says you are a conquerer. That you are more than enough. That you are forgiven, blameless and free from all past guilt and condemnation. God says you are good enough, fully loved and fully accepted in Him.

We learn these things about God and His character by spending daily time with Him and by reading His Word. The Bible is a love story, written to the world by a loving Creator. I encourage you to dig into that love letter today to find out what God is saying to you!

God loves you and wants good things for your life (Romans 8:28). I believe, when we repent and change our old thought patterns to align with HIS promises for us, that our hearts and lives will heal, change and transform. This is where true life change comes from!  

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life… let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:22-24

Let’s keep changing, for the better!

XO-
Sabrina