As I stand typing this, I turned 48 just eleven days ago. (Now’s your chance to wish me a belated birthday if you missed it on May 11!) And at age 48, I feel as if I’m at a fork in the road… a turning point if you will. I’m at the point age wise where it’s getting harder and harder to get into shape. If I’m honest (which I will be by the way), I’m not ok with where I’m at physically. There are things I need to begin to do to get back into shape sooner rather than later… thus, the fork in the road. What you’re looking at is a dismantled weight bench. It’s waiting to be put together. If I choose to remain on the road I’m currently on and not put together this weight bench, I’ll continue to get the results I don’t want and put on weight in places I don’t want it which changes me into the person I don’t want to be. Or I can choose to put the weight bench together and begin my new exercise routine.
Here’s what I know from previous experience and by watching others, the weight I allow myself to carry will either produce positive results or negative results physically. That bowl of ice cream at midnight carries weight. That bag of chips I eat right after dinner has weight. Yo, that popcorn with butter, salt and parmesan cheese (don’t hate – it’s realllllllllllly good) carries weight with each amazing bite I take. And it changes me… for the worse. Likewise, when I allow myself to lift the weight off of the bench, after time, it changes me for the better. The weight molds me into the person I want to become. You see…
What we allow to carry weight in our life has the power to change us.
Check this out:
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” – Genesis 3:1
In just two short chapters Adam and Eve give in to the serpent’s lies… “Sssssssooooooooooo Eve… did God say?” (Cause that’s how snakes talk…) And in one moment, Adam and Eve allowed someone else’s words to carry weight. Quick back story here, the first two chapters of Genesis paint a picture of earth as a paradise. It’s everything as God intended it to be. God made Adam and Eve, male and female in the image of Himself. God saw everything He had created, and it was good. Humanity living in perfect unity with God and creation. As God placed Adam in the garden, there was one thing God wanted Adam and Eve to keep in mind…
But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden — except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” – Genesis 2:16-17
God Himself knew with Adam as He knows with us…
What we allow to carry weight in our life has the power to change us.
It’s what happened to Adam and Eve. The weight of satan’s words changed them forever. “Ssssssooooooo Eve… Did God really say…” “You won’t really die!” Satan knew he was lying. It’s what he does. He’s the author of lies. His goal is to trick people into not trusting the Truth of God’s Word. It was his goal for Adam and Eve, and it’s his goal for us too. Satan knows that…
What we allow to carry weight in our life has the power to change us.
Maybe you’ve been there… maybe you’re there right now. You’ve been walking around… Doing your thing… Everything seems to be going great… Great house… Great job… Great life… You’re looking at things and you’re thinking things are good. And out of seemingly nowhere it happens… Little lies start to capture your attention. For some of us, maybe it’s the following lies:
• It’s not hurting anyone…
• Nobody will find out…
• It’s just one time…
• It’s fun…
• Surely God didn’t mean what He said
• The Bible isn’t really true
And satan starts to place little lies into your thoughts to question God’s Truth. Or maybe it’s little lies that someone says to you that makes you question your worth. Maybe it’s the comment of a boss who tells you they wanted someone else in your position. Maybe it’s the comment from a person you thought was a friend. Maybe it’s your own thoughts of hopelessness and depression because of a situation you’re simply trying to endure.
This is what satan does… he comes to us in ways we aren’t expecting and whispers lies into our ears… ”It doesn’t really matter…” “You’re not good enough…” “It’s just one time…” “You’re not smart enough…” “What does it matter if nobody finds out…” “God’s Word isn’t true…” “It’s just one time…” “God can’t comfort you…”
Satan is subtle like that. He’s not going to come stand in front of us dressed in red with a pitchfork yelling. He’s going to be dressed as something that looks good on the surface as he whispers lies into your ears to make you question everything. It’s what he does. He did it with Eve. And he’ll do it with us. Satan wants to get us to the place where we say to God, “You might be the author of my life, but You’re not the authority in my life.” Because satan knows…
What we allow to carry weight in our life has the power to change us.
Maybe you’re at your own crossroads right now… A fork in the road. Adam and Eve allowed satan’s words to carry weight, and they not only changed their whole life for the worse… They changed the whole creation for the worse so much so that we’re still feeling and operating in a world that was changed because Adam and Eve allowed someone else’s words other than God’s to carry weight.
There is great news though. If you’ve allowed satan’s lies to carry weight in your life and you feel stuck, there’s hope. If you’re reading this right now, you still have the chance to be changed by the weight and power of Jesus and the Word of God. There’s only one person who can cause you to overcome the lies, it’s Jesus. There’s only one book that can change us from the inside out, it’s the Bible. If you find yourself in the same place as Adam and Eve, there’s hope for you today. If we give weight to God’s Word, they’ll change us for the better AND we’ll find hope and peace and life… we’ll be transformed by the power of Jesus.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
