Spiritual Makeover

Remember the show "Extreme Home Makeover"? The show was about how a crew would come in and build a family a new home. Generally the family had gone through some tough times. When the crew would come in, they would send the family away on a mini vacation. The crew would then get down to work to give the home a makeover. When they were done they would bring the family back and show them what they had done to their home. There were lots of tears and smiles all at the same time.

It was a great show in that it showed people helping others. The show was an hour long. When it was over you were happy for the people who were helped.

Now here is where watching television and real life collide. Though the show was an hour long, it took longer than an hour to do a makeover on the house. I know you are probably thinking,"of course, we know that Troy." I mention it though because you would be surprised at how many of us realize that it takes a long time to accomplish something when it involves others, but when it is our lives we wonder, "why is this taking so long?"

Isn't it true? We want things to happen quicker than right now for us. Deep down we know life doesn't work this way, but we tend to forget when it is our life.

On extreme home makeover we only get a glimpse at the people working on the house. We don't get to see all that they have to do. Nobody wants to watch someone hammer away on a hammer for thirty minutes or some of the other stuff that is required. So we get a condensed version of all the work that goes into the extreme home makeover.

Now when it comes to our spiritual transformation or "makeover", we want it to happen quicker than right now. We also want others to change just as quick. We don't want to have to deal with the messy stuff. We don't want the monotony of the everyday stuff. We want quick, we want exciting. We want it all to be done within an hour just like we see on tv.

Spiritual transformation doesn't work like that. It can be slow, monotonous and messy. But if you take your time, you will one day look back and be amazed at how God has been changing you.

There are a few things that you can do daily that will help your transformation process. Actually, there is no growth in your transformation process without these.



1. Read your Bible: This is the way we grow spiritually. You learn about God, you learn about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. You begin to learn what pleases God, what doesn't. You will be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will bring some verse to your mind as you are dealing with something in your life. Remember to read not just for information, but also for transformation. We can know a lot of facts or be able to quote many verses, but if we aren't applying them to our lives what's the purpose?
As a guitar instructor I am amazed at how many students don't practice and then wonder why they aren't getting better. Well, the same could be said of our spiritual growth. Many don't take time to read their Bibles consistently and then wonder why they aren't growing spiritually. Remember, God will do His part. He will bring about transformation as we follow the ways that He has given us for it to happen.

2. Pray: Talk to God. At first it will be you asking Him for stuff, which is ok. As you grow, it will turn into a conversation. He will respond, expect Him to. You will begin to learn how He communicates with you. Prayer is showing our dependance on Him. I don't want to say too much about it, other than the old Nike slogan "just do it".

There are many other spiritual "disciplines" that we can do to help us experience God more, but whether we are just starting out on our journey or been on it for many years, you can't get away from reading your Bible and praying.

You can experience a spiritual makeover, but remember it takes time. Trust that God is at work in your life.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Troy


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