Are You Insane?

Ok, I'm not calling you crazy...LOL!  But check this out.  The great Physicist, Albert Einstein, said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.  Yet, how many of us, consciously or unconsciously, do the same thing day in and day out?

Whether it is destructive or unhealthy habits, relationships or even, words that we speak.  Sometimes they're things we've learned from our parents or picked up over time from the people that we associate with.  Or perhaps they're things that we've allowed to unconsciously influence us through the things that we watch or listen to.

I once heard Pastor Joel Osteen tell a story about a woman who would always cut the corners off of her ham, before putting it in the oven to prepare it.  Now, I'm not quoting this verbatim, so please forgive me if I miss a few details here.

One day when asked why she did this, she had to pause and think.  Her response was simply, "that is the way Momma always did it."  Well, as it turns out, her mother did it because she saw her mother do it.  She eventually came to learn that this all started because her grandmother's oven was too small to hold a pan large enough to fit the whole ham.  Therefore, she'd cut off the corners to make it fit into a smaller pan that would fit in the oven.

I know, in my own life, I've had to confront many sinful and destructive behaviors.  Some were from generational cycles, some from bad habits that I picked up over time.  What opened my eyes and began to make a difference in my life?  God working in my life through the Holy Spirit, illuminating His Word to me, tearing down the strongholds that once held me bound.

The Lord tells us, in Romans 12, not to be conformed to the things of this world, but, rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  How do we do this?  Through His holy Word.

2 Corinthians 10 tells us about pulling down strongholds and taking our thoughts captive, bringing them into obedience to Christ.  We must begin to see things the way God sees them.  We must begin to seek and understand His wisdom and instruction.

God is our creator and knows us better than we know ourselves.  As we spend time in His Word and in His presence, he will begin to reveal to us the sinful and destructive habits that we've allowed to invade our lives.  The things that have kept us from experiencing the abundant life He came to give us.  Sometimes its just a matter of gaining a different perspective.

Whether you're struggling with low self-esteem, debt, lust, depression, addiction...whatever it may be today, I believe a key to your deliverance is breaking the strongholds the enemy has established in your life, by beginning to renew your mind.  Search God's Word regarding whatever you struggle or challenge is, as someone searching for buried treasure.  Ask God to open your eyes and to give you understanding to begin to see the sinful and destructive patterns in your life and to give you the grace to begin to make a change.

Remember, we didn't become the way we are today overnight.  So, in much the same way, we cannot expect an instant change.  But, if we are persistent, continue to seek and trust in God and are willing to obey what He is leading us to do, we will begin to see change take place in our lives and begin to live the lives that He has ordained for us to.