THE CHANGING LIFE
Colossians 1:6 NLT
This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.
I’ve often reflected over the years how many ways God has changed my life. I’ll never forget the immediate change God brought in my life when, on that momentous night in December of 1975, I repented and gave my life completely to Jesus Christ. Something profoundly changed in my heart that evening. A tremendous softening, a responsive, tender conscience toward the Lord and His truth occurred, impacting my life in every way.
That very night I drove to Des Moines and immediately broke up with my girlfriend. I shared with her that I’d given my life to Christ earlier in the evening, that I could no longer go on living the way I had been. I urged her to give her life to Christ. I asked her to forgive me for the wrongs I had done.
I got home late that night. I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning reading some profound, spiritual truth. The next morning happened to be Sunday. I had not gone to church in years. I was briefly living at this time in my parents home. I got up, put on a shirt and tie, which I never wore, and went to the kitchen table to wait for my mom, as she was always the first person up. As soon as she came in, I asked her if I could talk to her. Tears welled up in my eyes as I apologized to her for the terribly disrespectful way I had treated her. I asked her if she would forgive me for the trouble I had caused. I told her I’d given my life to Jesus Christ.
I actually did this same thing with several other people in my life, whom I had wronged, and mistreated, including several teachers at my old high school.
My entire life took on a whole new direction. I loved rock music. I had seen many concerts and had many albums of bands like the Doobie Brothers, REO Speedwagon, Led Zeppelin, Foghat, Grand Funk Railroad, CSNY, and on and on. Though I have nothing against that type of musical form, the values of these secular bands, conveyed in their lyrics and lifestyles, had influenced me in very negative ways. I got rid of them. I stopped listening to that music when I drove my car.
I changed the way I looked at the world. My entire worldview changed. At 19, I became a counter-cultural Christian conservative overnight!
I changed from a man with no purpose or meaning in life, to a man on fire with eternal vision, mission, and purpose, compelled by God’s divine calling in my life.
I changed the way I treated my siblings. I began to treat them with genuine kindness and generosity, which was not my way before Christ.
I changed my priorities in life, intentionally putting God and His will at the very center and forefront of my life.
I changed from a man who had no time for God, to a man who began every day to seek the Lord in prayer, to read and study His word, striving to apply and obey everything God was teaching me from the Bible. I was earnestly asking God for specific things, watching for the first time in my life, as He began to bring amazing answers.
I changed who I hung out with. I befriended other serious-minded, dedicated Christian young people, who were like-minded in our shared commitments, values, and devotion to Christ, and to God’s Word, the Bible.
I changed the way I viewed and treated other people. I began to genuinely love and care about others, instead of my normal, arrogant, self-centered way of life.
I changed from living for myself and gave myself willingly in service to the people God brought into my life. I found great joy in serving others. My life became devoted to serving God and helping others.
I changed my mentality regarding the kind of woman I’d want to marry and spend the rest of my life with. My values and perspectives in this regard did a 180 from my previous life just days before.
I changed from a foolish man, who hated to learn, to a wiser man, hungry to learn and grow.
The last 50 years have been an incredible journey of meaningful, profound changes in my life.
When I got married in 1979, I was still a young Christian man. There was still much God needed to change in my life. God soon revealed to me what a selfish man I still was and how impatient I could be. Though this was a much more arduous, painful process, my life began to change. God brought specific trials into my life that helped me become a much more loving, selfless, and patient man. Biblical marriage brought about wonderful changes in my life.
In 1980 I became a father for the first time. What an exhilarating experience. God used it in a powerful way to bring more wonderful change to my life. Over time, God gave us three more children, and each child brought wonderful changes to our lives, more joy, more growth, and greater Christlikeness. Biblical fatherhood brought profound changes to my life.
I have changed and developed many wonderful habits over the course of these 50 years. Wonderful financial habits. Self-discipline and exercise habits. I implemented intentional gratitude, prayer, and praise into every day of my life. I implemented daily prayer with my wife. I began in earnest to serve my wife around the home. I made Biblically wise plans, diligently working those strategies and plans into our marriage, finances, parenting, health, and spiritual life.
I changed the way I ate, and what I drank.
I changed my way of thinking, and the things I thought about.
I changed my cynical, negative attitude, to a faith-filled, hopeful attitude.
I can say with absolute certainty that changing your life is a wonderful, positive thing. So much joy has come to my life as a result. Do not fear these kinds of changes. Do not avoid these kinds of changes. Embrace them. Pursue them. Develop and implement them into your life. Then you will experience that truth–The path of the righteous grows brighter and brighter until the full day!
I don’t have one regret regarding the wonderful changes God helped bring about in my life. They’ve filled me with gratitude, joy, and rich satisfaction. Every change has brought something meaningful and beneficial to my life.
As I’ve implemented each of these changes deeper and deeper into my way of life, I’ve reaped a harvest of rich, abundant, satisfying life, just as the Bible promises in Galatians.
Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and authentic, Biblical Christianity are the greatest things that ever happened to me! They’ve brought the very best things into my life.
For those of you who are wondering, “Is it really possible for me to change? Is there hope for me?” This powerful series will help you immensely. Please listen to it all.
https://strongdisciple.com/
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling