By Andrea Merrell
So, keep your thoughts continually fixed on all
that is
authentic and real, honorable and admirable,
beautiful and
respectful, pure and holy,
merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts
on
every glorious work of God, praising Him always.
Philippians 4:8 TPT
Candace was determined to change her behavior.
With her strong, independent spirit, she was convinced it would be a snap.
How wrong she was. And how disappointed. The more
she tried to change, the worse things became. She even put a rubber band on her
wrist to snap every time temptation reared its ugly head. It was too much like
Pavlov’s dog and his theory of classical conditioning. All she ended up with
was a bruise on her wrist.
The problem is even if she had achieved the
desired behavior, there was no change on the inside. No heart-change. As they
say, the dead body would have floated to the top eventually.
The Bible says, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV). Matthew 12:34 says, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (NIV).
The Bible says, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV). Matthew 12:34 says, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (NIV).
Sounds to me like the heart is
vital to our Christian walk. We need to internalize God’s Word in order to
change our inner (sinful) nature. Chris Tiegreen says, “When we try to achieve behavioral change without heart-change, it can’t
be done. It leads to constant failure and frustration.”
If
your desire is to change your behavior, start on the inside. Change your
thinking. Agree with what God says instead of what others say—or even what you
tell yourself. Fill your heart with good things (see Philippians 4:8), for out
of it will flow the issues of life.
Remember
… it’s a matter of the heart.
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