be smart enough to change before the pain…

now the sixth step.  if you’re serious about defeating a persistent pattern in your life that has defeated you for years and years you have to take this next step.  pick an accountability partner.

the reason why most people never break free from their habits is they’re unwilling to do this.  pick an accountability partner. 

now you need to see the importance of having support if you’re going to break free from your past.  there are some problems in your life you have to team tackle.  they are so big you can’t get well on your own.  you can’t break free on your own.  it’s true with temptations just like it is with past hurts.  you need somebody else in your life.  you’re not going to get well on your own. 

you’ve been trying to break these patterns for a long time.  it isn’t going to happen.  in fact if you’re unwilling to have an accountability partner, stop kidding yourself, you really don’t want to change. 

what happens is we want to change but the fear of change stays there and keeps us from doing it.  and only until the pain exceeds the fear do we change.  we don’t change when we see the light, we change when we feel the heat. 

but i would say to you, don’t get yourself into so much pain that it forces you to change.  be smart enough to change before the pain becomes that intense.  how do you do it?  by getting an accountability partner.

just a thought from the front porch…

finding a partner like that…

so many today are so overwhelmed  with life.  maybe you are. 

look at what mary did when she heard that she was to become the mother of JESUS.  luke 1.39 (niv),  mary didn’t waste a minute.  she got up and traveled to a town in judah in the hill country straight to zachariah’s house and she greeted elizabeth.  elizabeth was her cousin.  but that’s not important.  what is important is what elizabeth was. 

one, she was a very GODly woman.  she was married to a priest, zachariah.  she was a very GODly woman so she could pray for mary.  that was a good thing.

second, she was an older woman.  an elder woman so she had a lot more life experience and she could give wise advise to mary.

third, she was also pregnant.  in fact, elizabeth was pregnant with her own miracle pregnancy.  she and her husband had been childless all throughout life and right at the end, GOD made her pregnant through her husband (this wasn’t a virgin birth) and she was carrying JESUS’ cousin, john the baptist.  it was a miracle pregnancy.  she was six months pregnant.

so not only was she wise and older and GODly but she was just a little bit further ahead than mary.  mary was brand new pregnant.  elizabeth is six months pregnant and she can help her younger cousin to go through this situation.

here’s the point, when you’re overwhelmed you need to find an elizabeth.  you need an elizabeth in your life.  what is an elizabeth?  here’s what you look for:

first, a strong believer.  find somebody who is a strong believer, who can be your spiritual partner, your mentor, your co associate through life. 

two, probably somebody a little bit older than you.  they’ve had a little bit more of life experience than you’ve had.

find somebody who’s just a little bit further along than you are.  they don’t have to be perfect.  in fact, you’ll never find a spiritual partner or mentor.  you find somebody whose just a little bit further along than you are and they can help you out. 

everybody needs a partner like that.

just a thought from the front porch…