GQ # 6 – Why Am I Not Being Transformed? ~ blog

Some changes in life can happen quickly. You can change the color and style of your hair. You can gain or lose weight. You can get a spray tan and any number of plastic surgeries.  You can change your mind and many of us change our clothes or at least our underwear on a fairly regular basis…daily would be a good idea.

Most of these are superficial changes. They might change the way you look but changing the way you think is more difficult. And changing the way you act is also very hard to do. How many times have words been passing over your lips with your brain screaming “Nooooo do not say that!!!” But it’s too late and the harmful words have been heard.

Why is it that we expect becoming a Christian is going to change us? We do begin to sense a peace now between us and God. We might even feel His forgiveness, mercy, and grace. However, as life moves on anticipated changes do not seem to happen and we find ourselves reverting back to the same behaviors we had before…which are mostly unwanted but seem to be able to hang around and ambush us when we least expect it.

The change that all believers are supposed to be experiencing is found in the word TRANSFORMATIONThe Bible teaches us that because we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, He is going to transform us into becoming more Christ-like women and men and we expect that our actions are going to change because we are going to be being changed by the Holy Spirit.

The problem is our transformation is not automatic. We are not placed on some heavenly assembly line and as the days pass the angels are going to be making adjustments as we move along. Change comes with time. The Holy Spirit has His part in it…but so do we. We must do the work ourselves in order for the Spirit to be changing us.

So, let’s see what the Bible says about being transformed. First Romans 12:2;

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

A large part of our transformation has to do with us renewing our minds. However, before those words are spoken, we are first told to not be conformed to this world. The influences of our world…the messages we hear and the ideas flooding into our brain every day has dramatically increased in the last 40 years.  When was the last time you were not on your phone or tablet, not looking at social media, or binge-watching shows online? When was the last time you sat alone to just think or sat with friends having a meaningful conversation?

Ok…part of the problem right now is Covid-19 related. However, I do not think we need to wear a mask when meeting with God. There is zero social distancing with Him since His Spirit dwells inside of our bodies. The pandemic has given us more time alone that could be invested in communicating with God and others. Instead, we use that free time to be conformed to this world and the world’s way of thinking.

Imagine you have two glasses of water into which have been placed blue dye in one and red dye in the other. If you immerse your finger in the red dye glass what should you expect your finger to look like when you pull it out?  Ok…that’s a dumb question. However, if we gorge ourselves being entertained by the world and all of its messages then our mind is not going to be being transformed by God. We will be being conformed to our world’s way of thinking.

So, part of being transformed and having our mind renewed is controlling the input that is going into our mind. Examining the kinds of input you are receiving will tell you what kind of output or actions you are going to be feeling, thinking, saying, and doing. And that good old garbage in garbage out saying applies here.

So, a very important part of your transformation is controlling what input you are receiving. Time with God in reading and meditating on Scripture, praying, worshipping, and being with other godly people will have a huge impact on whether or not your mind is being transformed.

An even more important part of our transformation has to do with the Holy Spirit. Note this passage;

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

What is this key passage telling us what to do in order to be being transformed by the Holy Spirit? We are to be before God with our faces unveiled…no masks…no pretending but being open and honest before Him. That being said what are we told we need to be doing?

CONTEMPLATE THE LORD’S GLORY

There appears to be a direct correlation between us contemplating the Glory of the Lord and the Holy Spirit transforming us into more Christ-like people. How different this is to what most of us spend our free time doing. Being in the world and allowing the world to fill our time and our minds with its ungodly and sensual messages is going to stop any transformation of you, your mind, and your body.

So, try this test. Keep a record of what you are doing through your day in 30-minute segments noting what you are doing with your time. Use simple categories to keep track and enter it into your calendar. At the end of the week total up all the hours you have spent and behold what those totals are.

The answer will be staring you in the face. Your sources of input will be clear and you will see what you need to change in order to increase the time you spend contemplating the Lord’s glory as opposed to the things that are just numbing you to the stress and pain you are feeling.  I dare you to do it and begin to see where the changes you need to make.

More on being transformed by the Spirit tomorrow…

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