Why is Change so Hard? by Johnny Hunt

Why is change so difficult? Why a whole book on change? “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) Note the qualifier: desperately wicked. Not just wicked; desperately wicked. Gosdeck commented, “The heart, the inner self, is the problem. It deceives even itself. It is knotted and twisted like a hopelessly tangled knot. Every attempt to untie it frustrates.” “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind.” Jeremiah 17:10 (NKJV) If the mind is not thinking right, it will mislead the heart, and the heart will produce idols. We desperately need the Lord to test our mind. This was David’s prayer after his sin with Bathsheba, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties.” Psalm 139:23 (NKJV) Our heart is desperately wicked. How can we cooperate with God in changing it? “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) This week I hid this verse in my heart: We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. Psalm 75:1 (NKJV) I am sixty-one years old. I have been studying the Bible my whole life. I still memorize Scripture. Nothing will transform the mind like committing God’s word to memory and meditating on it. If you want to be changed, there is no surer path than memorizing and meditating on God’s Word. Memorizing and meditating on God’s Word is the best way to combat the conforming influence of the world. Memorizing and meditating on the Word of God will transform me on the inside so I can be strong from all the attacks from the outside. The world, the flesh, and the Devil will seek to squeeze me into its mold. I memorize and meditate on God’s Word to combat that influence. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. “ Colossians 3:16a (NKJV) “Dwell” suggests that God’s Word would be at home in our hearts. When I am in my own home, I can go into any room I want. If I am a guest in your home, I can only go where I am invited. Paul said to let God’s Word be at home in your heart. This means it has freedom to go into every corner of our lives. If God’s Word makes you uncomfortable, it may be because you have not let God’s Word dwell in you richly. What did Jesus do when He was tempted? Three times He was tempted in the desert and three times He said, “It is written…” When the world tries to squeeze you into its mold, you will do well to say, “It is written…” God renews our mind through the wealth of His Word and the weight of His glory. The word for “glory” actually means, “fat” or “heavy.” In an ancient world where food was scarce, fat people were considered glorious. Common people could barely get enough food and were thin; kings were fat—and glorious. Do you remember the old song, “He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother”? Jesus is heavy and my brother. The Bible says we are joint heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17) That means Jesus is my Brother. Jesus, my Brother is glorious. Jesus is heavy and my Brother. Do you want to know why the world has such a pull for some of us? Jesus ain’t heavy. We don’t see Jesus as the heavy, significant, glorious person that He is. And when He ain’t heavy in our eyes, the world looks heavy to us. Do you want to know why you struggle to be as generous as you would like to be? Jesus ain’t heavy. Do you know why you can’t get yourself motivated to serve? Jesus ain’t heavy. Do you know why you spend countless hours looking at naked bodies on a computer screen? Jesus ain’t heavy. When we see—really see—the weight of this glory, the transformation begins. I love the last two lines of this hymn: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. In the light of His glory and grace, all the things of this world that would squeeze us into its mold will grow strangely dim. Let the transformation begin. David M. Gosdeck, Jeremiah, Lamentations, The People’s Bible (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House, 1994), 113.