What to Do When the Holy Spirit Nudges You to Change
Sometimes the only thing standing between people and transformed lives is saying, “I am limited, but God is not,” tearing down the pride that makes change a difficult task.
On an episode of Going Deeper, Stephen Arterburn relays six simple ways people can step into the uncomfortable yet necessary places leading them from old, toxic behaviors to lasting freedom through a power not their own.
In the book of John, Jesus asked a man paralyzed for 37 years a question with an obvious answer:
“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6, ESV).
Like this man, Jesus is asking people today the same question, and although their answer is often an easy “of course I want to be healed,” the steps to healthy change are not so easily taken.
Arterburn breaks down these steps as he shares six helpful hints viewers can use to start on the road of transformation today, which include the following:
- Counter fatal excuses
- Ask “are there benefits to staying the same?”
- Also ask “what am I afraid of?”
Fatal excuses prevent change, but more importantly, they shut down the still small voice of the Holy Spirit nudging believers to break out into the new creation they are in Christ.
Staying in the same familiar place of unhealthy habits is bound to only hurt and destroy the God-given purposes given to every believer before they were even born. “You can stand to be uncomfortable if it means freedom,” Arterburn said.
The good news is, God never asks people to walk into their fears alone or ill equipped. Every lie of the enemy threatening to prevent believers from experiencing the freedom of walking in newness of life is met with the divine power that raised Jesus from the dead living inside them:
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11, ESV).
Surrendering to His limitless power is the passageway to exchanging lifestyles that hold Christians back for patterns that breathe hope, joy, love, and peace into their daily lives.
Click the video above to discover the last three simple steps toward change as Arterburn encourages viewers not to strive for perfection but to persevere with patience through the process.
