“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2
We are in the season of Lent where Christians spend 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter in spiritual preparation and reflection. It is a time for prayer, fasting, and remembering Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and what it means for us. For some people it also means self-denial and giving up something during Lent, such as things they enjoy, as a means of self-discipline. For others it might mean attending a Lenten Bible study or prayer meetings. In either case, it’s a time to focus on God and not us.
Many of us carry around some bad habits, things that we do that we know we probably shouldn’t do since we are now followers of Christ. We often make New Year’s resolutions to try and change our ways, but they often don’t last long, and we end up back where we started. It’s because old habits die hard. They don’t want to give up their grip on us, and we often don’t want to let go of them either, even though we know we should.
When Jesus met with Nicodemus at night, Jesus told him that we must be born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus didn’t understand and asked Jesus how he could re-enter his mother’s womb. But that’s not what Jesus was talking about. He was talking about a spiritual rebirth and being born again in the spirit (John 3:5). It’s like killing our old life to have a new one. The Apostle Paul describes it as a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” Consequently, if we are a new creation in Christ, why do we still hang onto these old bad habits? And why is it so hard to get rid of them?
I would suggest that it’s hard because we think we need to get rid of them ourselves and by our own power. With that mindset we will always struggle because we cannot get rid of these physical habits with physical remedies. They can only be overcome by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ! As the Bible says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord Almighty.” Unless we submit our lives to God and His Holy Spirit, we will never be able to rid ourselves of our old bad habits. If we want to truly get rid of our bad habits, we must let Christ and His Holy Spirit take over our lives. There’s no other way for it to happen.
But we should also be aware that Satan doesn’t give up easily. He does not want us to change, nor does he want us to believe in Christ. His aim is to draw us away from Christ and to keep us there, essentially worshipping him instead. So, he will do whatever he must to keep us from submitting our lives to God through Christ. The Apostle Peter asserts this clearly in 1 Peter 5:8 when he wrote, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” If we fail to pay attention, we will fall prey to the devil and his schemes.
But there is also more we can do than just be aware and alert. The Apostle Paul declares in Ephesians Chapter 6 that we are in a spiritual battle, not a physical one. In Ephesians 6:10-11 Paul encourages us to “Be strong in the Lord and is his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” In other words, we need to trust in God’s power and not ours, and to protect and arm ourselves in readiness for the battle with the evil forces that are sure to come. What are these protections you might ask? Paul lists them in Ephesians 6:14-17, and they include the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God). These are our spiritual weapons. With these, and God’s Spirit, we can defeat Satan and our old habits!
I recently saw the movie, The Jesus Revolution, which is a story about the Jesus Movement of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that started in California. It documented the period when many young people of that time, especially “Hippies” (young people who rejected the norms of society and advocated non-violence), became followers of Jesus. They had become disillusioned about America and were turning to drugs, sex, and alcohol to find peace, love, and acceptance. But they did not find it there. Instead, they found it in Jesus! It was a move of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to overcome their addictions and find the life they were looking for. It reminds us that only God can take away our sin and our bad habits and give us true life.
If we want to get rid of our old habits, we must turn to Jesus and “renew our minds” and become a “new creation.” Complete faith and trust in Jesus it all it takes. How do we know? The Bible gives us two key stories where Jesus asserts this truth. The first is in Matthew 8:5-13 where Jesus heals the servant of the Roman centurion because of his faith. The second is from Matthew 9:20-22 where a woman with a 12-year bleeding problem believed if she just touched his cloak she would be healed, and she was. Jesus told her, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.”
So, even though old habits die hard, it is possible to get rid of them. But only when we put our faith in Jesus and His power to heal us, change us, and restore us!