[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Changing unhelpful habits (2)

Read: ROMANS 8:1-11

Meditation verse:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who  raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His  Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

Focus on changing one specific habit or behavior at a time. Trying to change multiple habits at once is setting yourself up for failure. Successful habit change  involves focusing on something highly specific and measurable that can be done  and repeated over a period.  

One of the difficulties in changing a habit is making it stick, as the existing neural  pattern must be replaced with a stronger alternative. This replacement happens through repetition, rehearsal, and reinforcement of the new behavior pattern.  Otherwise, you are likely to go back to the old one. Habits are created mostly  through repetition. Research shows that it takes twenty-one days to start  forming a new habit and up to sixty-six days for these to become embedded as  new neural networks; that is become automatic. You would need to practice  that new habit every day for the next twenty-one days. 

Choose a partner who would hold you accountable. The bible says: “Confess  your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be  healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James  5:16).  

Finally, realize that lasting change can only be found in Christ. The apostle Paul  said: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7: 24-25). It is the law of  the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that can make you free from the law of sin and  

death (Romans 8:2). If you have not trusted Jesus for your salvation, you are  still a sinner in need of grace. Your attempts at change would be futile. Lasting  change begins with accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. “Therefore,  if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Romans 8:36).

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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