“The most important thing about a man is not what he does, it is who he becomes.”
Dallas Willard
In this world we are bombarded with messages that cause us to be anxious and driven to accomplish something… anything. We are supposed to be a leader in our company or church by age 30, have picture perfect, obedient children by age 35, and be physically fit and wrinkle free at age 40. Many of us live in a constant state of being overwhelmed.
Have you ever stopped to think maybe all we need is a perspective change? What if we spent our time focusing on becoming the person God created us to be? Maybe then we will actually be able to find true success and satisfaction in this life.
But How?
Where do we begin? First I think we need to set some ground rules.
- The most important thing to remember is that it is God who changes us and molds us into who HE created us to be. We can not do it in our own strength. We can’t do enough to achieve this goal. It is only through Christ that we have real, lasting change. The sooner we accept this truth, the sooner we will be on our path of true transformation.
- Second, the Word of God is our guide. Self help books are nice and do provide insight and guidance. Trusted friends are necessary for accountability. Personality tests are informative. But it is the truth found in Scripture that ultimately has the final say. God’s Word is full of identity statements that we need to get deep into our hearts and believe that they are absolutely true about ourselves. It is in His Word that we BECOME all that He has created us to be. Once we are believing and living in those truths we can walk out God’s calling on our lives and help others to do the same.
- The next ground rule is keep the proper perspective on the amount of time it will take to become the person you want to be. The habits and mindsets you are wanting to change didn’t start overnight. They were formed over years and over multiple experiences. It will take time to retrain your mind and form new habits. Don’t be discouraged and offer yourself lots of grace and mercy!! It takes time, but trust me it will happen if you stay engaged!
- The last ground rule we have is don’t do it alone!!! God created us for relationship and it is only in relationship that we fully thrive! The first relationship we need to cultivate is our relationship with the Lord. He is our ultimate Guide and Source of comfort and support. Once that is properly set as the center of all your relationships, you can expand out to include others. The next relationship should be your spouse if you are married, and if not, a trusted friend or family member. Then the next step is your community-friends and family with like-minded goals. It is only in community that we thrive and grow.
Join Us!
It is our desire for you to be a part of our community. Let’s join together! We need to encourage and strengthen each other to run our individual races. Let’s be there to comfort each other when we hit a bump in the road. Be a loving friend that is willing to have the hard conversation when a friend gets off track. Let’s be willing to pause and empathize with each other. In doing this we can build each other up and encourage each other to fulfill God’s purpose for our own lives.
Join our community here, so that we can each become the person that God intends for us to be!
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Proverbs 27:17
