Transformation is hard! And let’s be honest, the older we get, the more set in our ways we become! We are creatures of habit, we become comfortable with how things are, and many struggle with change. We like patterns and get uneasy, skeptical, and wary of anything our brain doesn’t recognize. Whether we realize it or not, habits have long been set and they are hard to break! And transformation, well the very word could be considered “habits” antonym!
I wake up around 6 a.m., grab my not-so-small cup of coffee (this is a judgment-free zone!), sit with my Bible and read for an hour before my family wakes up. Sometimes, if I’m being real honest, it takes me about 15 minutes to really “hear” what I’m reading. That caffeine takes a minute to find its way to my brain! This has become my habit. Coffee first, then…my husband and I have an agreement, coffee first, then…the rest of the day can have its start! But this “habit” every once in a while gets interrupted. And I find that it’s not as “necessary” as I have made it out to be.
I had the opportunity recently to do quite a bit of traveling. That meant that I was often leaving my home at 2 a.m. to catch an early flight. I guarantee you I was not waking up at midnight to enjoy a cup of coffee and leisurely reading my Bible! I would wake up, drink my coffee at the bathroom sink while applying my makeup, and dart out the door within half an hour. My habit went out the door because necessity overshadowed my comfort.
Let me say that again: Necessity overshadowed my comfort. This is where true transformation begins. We come to a place in our lives where we realize that things can no longer stay the same. Transformation can include our physical bodies, our spiritual growth, or our emotional maturity. Transformation is similar to metamorphosis-imagine a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. It changes the entire body plan and creates an entirely, new, unimaginable, unrecognizable creature! This is the very tranformation that happens to us when we are willing to do the hard work required of us to become all that God has intended us for.
Habits will limit you. Habits will bind you. Transformation is hard work. Transformation will challenge you. But when you come to a place in your life where you know that staying the same will cost you more than the temporary discomfort of change, you will embrace the challenge, defeating old patterns and habits that are no longer useful in your life. This is where necessity overshadows your comfort. The beautiful and encouraging truth is is that we don’t do it alone. If you know Jesus, you have Holy Spirit in you empowering you, teaching you and leading you so that you can become all that God has planned for you to be.
Let me leave you with a thought: Jesus could have chosen to succomb to comfort in the Garden of Gethsemane, but His necessity to save us overshadowed that need for comfort. And His “transformation” is the very reason you and I have hope today. I wonder, who is waiting on your transformation?